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Hollidaysburg Area School Board members are slated to continue discussions about policy changes after what some, including Superintendent Bob Gildea, deem an inappropriate book that appeared on a seventh grade teacher's desk.
The graphic novel "Gender Queer" sparked outrage by some parents and members of the community on social media and discussion at a special board meeting on Monday. A graphic novel uses illustrations and words to tell a story.
Roughly 300 parents and community members showed up at the meeting to voice their frustrations and concerns.
"Gender Queer" is a memoir by author Maia Kobabe, documenting "eir" (Kobabe uses Spivak pronouns: e, em, eir, emself, created by a mathematician) journey to identify as nonbinary, that is, as neither male or female.
The book chronicles Kobabe's struggles through adolescence and puberty. Kobabe was assigned female at birth, but fluctuated between feeling like different parts of "emself" were female while others leaned more male. Eventually "e" started coming out to family members and friends, but experienced a lot of fear and trepidation about being rejected or shunned.
"Gender Queer" was meant to be a letter to Kobabe's family, detailing parts of "eir" life that Kobabe was unable to express in person to that point.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Kobabe said it was difficult to explain how "e" was exactly feeling, so the book was meant to bridge that gap in understanding.
"When I was first coming out as nonbinary, I kept getting responses along the lines of, 'We love you, we support you, but we have no idea what you are talking about,'" Kobabe said.
For general readers, Kobabe said the book is intended for high school and older.
The book was published in 2019, but it wasn't until 2021 that controversy started surrounding the graphic novel. Kobabe recalled receiving emails in late 2021, saying "Gender Queer" had been banned in a northern Virginia school district. A week later, the book was banned in a Florida school district and then several more districts followed suit in the ensuing weeks and months.
There are a handful of explicit images spread out across the 240 pages, depicting Kobabe's early fantasies and experiences during "eir" discovery process and those were labeled "pornography" by critics and challengers.
According to the American Library Association, "Gender Queer" was the most challenged book of 2021, resulting in several bans in libraries and schools across the country. The association said the book was challenged because of LGBTQ+ content and "it was considered to have sexually explicit images."
In a press release from the organization, ALA President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada said the rise in attempts to ban books, including "Gender Queer," in recent years is likely related to political agendas.
"The unprecedented number of challenges we're seeing already this year reflects coordinated, national efforts to silence marginalized or historically underrepresented voices and deprive all of us -- young people, in particular -- of the chance to explore a world beyond the confines of personal experience," Pelayo-Lozada said.
"Though it's natural that we want to protect young people from some of life's more difficult realities, the truth is that banning books does nothing to protect them from dealing with tough issues," Pelayo-Lozada said. "Instead, it denies young people resources that can help them deal with the challenges that confront them."
With the recent confrontations over the book, Hollidaysburg joins its long list of challengers.
Start of controversy
Issues in the Hollidaysburg school district date back to the beginning of the school year when a teacher asked junior high students their preferred pronouns and displayed a LGBTQ+ pride flag in the classroom. That culminated when allegedly the same teacher had the controversial "Gender Queer" memoir on her desk.
Parents, including Diane Krueger, were told about the book by their children, prompting emails to Gildea. Krueger, in an email shared to Facebook, asked Gildea if the district knew what English teacher Nicole Stouffer was doing in her classroom.
"I asked him (her son) how often he would observe her reading it and he said, '2-3 times per week,'" Krueger said in an email. "It begs the question on how she (Stouffer) could not have known that pornographic material was inappropriate, forbidden from school and illegal to show to minors."
Gildea responded in an email, saying that junior high principal Kenneth Krott "handled the situation swiftly and appropriately." Gildea said that Stouffer was told to remove the book from her classroom and to not bring it back into the building.
Gildea also said the district had spoken with Hollidaysburg Borough Police Officer Richard Oldham and that in light of the information he received, "no further action would be taken."
Other than seeing the title of the book, there was no proof any students saw the material printed inside.
The issue was taken to Facebook, where parents and community members shared their thoughts. Many were calling for Stouffer to be fired.
Attempts by the Mirror to reach Stouffer for comment were unsuccessful.
Some parents made allegations both online and at the board meeting that the Hollidaysburg Area Education Association and President Mike Rawlins held a meeting with teachers the previous week, telling them to show up to the board meeting to support Stouffer and threatening them if they didn't.
In an interview with the Mirror, Rawlins vehemently denied the allegations, saying he encouraged teachers to stay home if they would feel uncomfortable in a tense environment.
"It's not in my nature to force anyone into an uncomfortable situation," Rawlins said.
Fallout
Lydia Link was another Hollidaysburg parent who took to social media following Krueger's emails to the district. Link said her two daughters were also asked their preferred pronouns in September, but she didn't place all the blame on Stouffer, rather turning attention back on the district during public comment at Monday's school board meeting.
"Although I disagree with this teacher's actions, I can't help but to feel she is being thrown under the bus by the administration," Link said. "A policy should have already been put in place. That would have spared our children this unneeded distraction."
Link said Stouffer needed more explicit guidelines on what is and isn't appropriate in the classroom.
Krueger's initial emails to Gildea in September about Stouffer's pronoun questions prompted some members of the school board to create new language to add to school policy on topics and materials that would no longer be allowed in class.
Board member Carmen Bilik was one of the members who led the charge after the concerns were brought to the board. Code 814 talks about proper teacher/student relationships and interactions. The proposed amendments would limit teachers from being able to bring up subjects like politics, religion or gender identity.
Bilik declined to comment any further when contacted by the Mirror.
There are concerns surrounding the proposed language, however.
Rawlins said the code as it is currently worded would open the district up to possible litigation in the future by politically motivated individuals or groups.
"The district is already having financial struggles, so the association doesn't want to see the door opened to any potential lawsuits or legal battles that would drain more funds from the education of the students in the district," Rawlins said.
Rawlins said the language is "so vague and open to interpretation by anyone." The debate between members at the meeting showed how "reckless and irresponsible" the changes are, he said.
Rawlins said teachers have two primary concerns: who is going to enforce what and what is and what isn't allowed in a classroom display; and litigation and being targeted by people with political agendas.
Monday's discussion ended in a stalemate. The matter is expected to be on the agenda at Wednesday's 7 p.m. board meeting.
Mirror Staff Writer Nate Powles is at 814-946-7466.