Parent brings library debate to trustees

Officials defer to Chippewa Valley management of issue of what she calls ‘explicit materials’

A Macomb County parent attended the Clinton Township Board of Trustees meeting Monday night to alert township officials about an ongoing battle she and others are having over sexually explicit language or images in local schools.

Roseanna Ondra, who has children in Chippewa Valley Schools, told board members many residents have been turning out at school board meetings over what they consider the explicit materials in public school libraries.

Speaking during the public comment section of the board meeting, Ondra said she wanted to make the community aware of “what some of our school taxes are funding.”

She passed out images and began to read an excerpt of a library book that she said contained graphic language concerning sadomasochistic bondage, masturbation, oral and group sex.

“I’m sorry for this,” a distraught looking Ondra said as she began to read the passage.

But she was stopped by township officials, including township Attorney John Dolan, who said Clinton Township has a policy “in regard to certain verbiage.” He noted she had passed out the passage and images to board members to get an idea of she was talking about.

“I don’t think repeating this language…” Dolan said, interrupting her.

Ondra responded: “Because it’s inappropriate.”

“It’s inappropriate here,” Bob Cannon, the township supervisor, interjected.

Ondra said it’s also inappropriate in schools as well.

“That’s for you and the school to take up, not us,” Cannon said.

Since August, parents and others have attended Chippewa Valley

Board of Education meetings, asking them to remove the sexually charged materials from library shelves or in the media center. Standing-room only crowds have attended the rowdy school board meeting, where some carried signs that read: “Schools should protect kids not porn — Help get porn out of schools.”

The controversy appears to be part of a coordinated campaign and debates over parents’ rights to exclude children from subjects and conversations about sex, abortion, sexuality, and gender in Michigan and elsewhere.

Chippewa Valley, a 14,500-student district that includes northern Clinton and parts of Macomb townships, has instituted an optout form for parents to sign if they want to shield their children from the graphic literature.

Some parents have said the district is slow to act on their objections, noting there are hundreds of books that contain what they view as objectionable items.

“As it stands, this filth remains on our school libraries with the school board refusing to review it,” Ondra said.

Clinton Township officials took no action on the item, which board members said is a school matter.

A handful of people recently spoke during public participation at a Feb. 15 committee meeting of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners to complain objectionable materials in school books. One man read aloud an excerpt from one book without verbalizing the vulgar words.