Censorship concerns: CCSD principal’s email sparks fierce library book debate

An otherwise uneventful Clark County School Board meeting became a lightning rod for debate on censorship and literacy freedom Thursday evening as community members argued over a message sent by a local high school principal.

Jessica Lovell, principal at Sierra Vista High School, suggested in an email to Clark County School District high school administrators that they screen for controversial library books by using a Moms for Liberty website. She described the site as “a good starting point” in determining whether to remove or keep books on library shelves, according to a screenshot of the email shared with the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Nichole Beer, a librarian at Martinez Elementary School.

In response to Beer’s initial message to school district leaders, Jesse Welsh, the school district’s deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, wrote in an email that, while he agreed with Beer that Lovell’s message “missed the mark in many aspects,” he believed in recognizing the differing viewpoints parents have about what materials are appropriate for their children.

Welsh added that, after a discussion with Lovell, he thought she was intending to “provide support and not to advocate a course of action to colleagues.”

The email comes as schools across the district are beginning to link databases showcasing their library materials on their school websites, a move superintendent Jhone Ebert said is aimed at increasing community transparency in school book offerings.

Since its inception, the Moms for Liberty book rating system has been criticized by civil rights advocates for, among other reasons, discouraging literature containing racial justice history and LGBQT+ themes.

Two trustees — Lorena Biassotti and Lydia Dominguez — were members of the local Moms for Liberty chapter before being elected to the school board in November. Ebert said the school district does not endorse any particular organization’s viewpoints on library materials during Thursday’s board meeting.

Animosity over censorship

Outside the school district’s Edward A. Greer Education Center before the meeting, around 20 people stood holding copies of famously banned books and signs decrying censorship. Beer said she took issue with the email and notified school district leaders of it.

“If a parent wants their child not to check out certain books, they can do that,” Beer said. “They can decide for their kids, they don’t get to decide for everybody’s kids.”

After an email was sent to Lovell seeking comment, the school district responded to the Review-Journal with a statement.

In the statement, the school district said it is committed to transparency by requiring all schools to put their library’s book titles on their school websites. “All schools are required to follow CCSD Policy 6150 and the CCSD Library Services Manual, which outline requirements for maintaining and updating school library content,” the statement said.

Yadusha Jones, chairwoman of Moms for Liberty Clark County, represented a smaller contingency of community members who supported Lovell’s email at the meeting.

“All she did was ask for people to do their research before they allow kids to pick up certain types of books,” Jones said.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.