Crutcher

The board voted 3-2 to allow Chris Crutcher's tale of tolerance to be read by 10th, 11th and 12th graders, but stated that, if used in the classroom, parents must be allowed to select an alternative book. Brit Liljedahl, Brenda Dooley and Dan Zaiser voted in favor of the resolution, which had been recommended to the board by an ad-hoc committee that reviewed the book. Trish Allmon and Mark Warner opposed it.

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Allmon said her main concern was that if some students chose not to read "Whale Talk" they would be ostracized by classmates.

Warner opposed the book's language, which includes racial slurs and profanity.

"There are a lot of other books out there that we could use to teach this lesson," he said.

The district pulled "Whale Talk" from the 10th-grade classrooms after the Rev. Nathan Slaughter filed a complaint Feb. 22 and asked for the review. Slaughter initially complained about the book, which deals with racism, abuse and being different, in a "Missouri Valley Times" letter to the editor, calling it "filth." He filed the complaint on behalf of his church, the Church of Christ, and the Missouri Valley Ministerial Association.

Slaughter was out of town and could not attend the meeting, but said earlier he was pleased the board was considering allowing parental oversight. His church's youth minister, Kelly Turney, reiterated that point during a public comments opportunity prior to the vote.

"This isn't about censorship," he said. "Parents need to know what their children are reading, especially at the sophomore level where they are not allowed to make legal decisions."

The three members voting to approve the resolution all cited parental input in supporting it.

"Parental notification is a good thing," Liljedahl said. "It is something we, as a board, have always stressed."

Following the vote, Superintendent Tom Micek said the district would begin providing sixth- through 12th-grade parents a syllabus for each course, which would indicate the course description, goals, and texts and materials used. He said the syllabus would also indicate if the course might contain controversial subject matter and allow alternative materials if parents objected.

Roger and Libby Riley, who said their daughter found "Whale Talk" offensive, were pleased with that decision.

"This is a good outcome," Roger Riley said. "We weren't trying to ban the book. We want parental involvement."

The Rileys and Missouri Valley City Council Member Gene Dinsmore also spoke in opposition to the ad-hoc committee's makeup. Dinsmore noted all but two members were educators and said there should be more citizen input.

Libby Riley said the committee should have had minority representation. "My daughter is a minority (Korean American), and she was offended by the racial slurs. She did not get the tolerance message."

Micek said the committee was formed based on board policy. He was not opposed to the suggestions and indicated the board could change its policy to expand involvement should issues arise in the future.

Missouri Valley High School sophomore Hannah Green expressed pleasure with the outcome. She and sophomores Whitney Ruffcorn and Emery Waterhouse had circulated a petition requesting "Whale Talk" remain in the school.

"It taught me what life is like," Green said. "If you take this out, you will also have to take out books like 'Huck Finn' and 'Tom Sawyer. '"

Ruffcorn and Green both indicated they thought the controversy should have been handled internally.

"Mrs. Drees (principal) and Mr. Bertelsen (sophomore English teacher) both said they would have provided an alternative book. They shouldn't have gone to the media."

Both girls stated Bertelsen told students prior to assigning "Whale Talk" they should tell him if they were uncomfortable reading it.

"He said he would give them another book to read."

Micek said he supports Bertelsen.

"He is a very competent, caring professional. I have a lot of confidence in him as a teacher," he said.