OCEANSIDE — Members of the Oceanside community clashed over recent demands for the school district to remove multiple books, several of which include LGBTQ themes and characters, from school libraries, claiming they are inappropriate for children.
Local groups and residents proposed banning a list of 11 books that reference LGBTQ topics, drug use, curse words and some sexual content at the Oceanside Unified School District’s Feb. 7 board meeting and previous meeting in January.
The books include “Crank,” “All American Boys,” “The Hate U Give,” “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” “Ghost Boys,” All Boys Aren’t Blue,” “Boy Toy,” “Fun Home,” “Gender Queer,” “Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens,” and “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation.”
“Someone is going to get sexually assaulted on campus because of these books,” said Katie Taylor.
Many people opposed to the books also criticized the district for its inclusivity regarding LGBTQ students.
Metroflex Gym owner Louis Uridel, who made headlines after being arrested for keeping his gym open at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, called the board “groomers” for endorsing LGBTQ inclusivity.
“This woke ideology of inclusion has opened up the floodgates to the absurd, and this absurdity threatens my kids and their future,” Uridel said.
Several community members who were there to protest the books weren’t district residents or parents of students in the district. Awaken Church, which has several campus locations throughout San Diego County but none in Oceanside, called its members to action days before the school board meeting to speak against the alleged “pornographic” books.
In response, many local supporters of the LGBTQ community attended the meeting and argued that the books shouldn’t be banned. Some OUSD teachers also spoke against the book ban suggestion.
South Oceanside Elementary fifth grade teacher Charles Finn related the book ban argument to the book burnings in Nazi Germany.
“The ideas that Nazis stood for are still with us. Nationwide groups like these have been attempting to ban books to erase people those books represent and speak to,” Finn said. “Erasing the books won’t erase the people. Teachers and librarians have worked very hard to ensure there are books in our libraries that reflect the lives and experiences of everyone.”
Several of the same community members against the books and LGBTQ inclusivity also spoke against the scheduled salary increases for teachers, classified employees and associate superintendents and the increased compensation for board members and Superintendent Julie Vitale.
Vitale, a member of the LGBTQ community, was also condemned for her participation in Pride by the Beach last summer and her association with the district’s recent recognition as an LGBTQ-supportive school by Equality California.
“I’m very proud of the work that Julie Vitale has done in the district for the four-plus years she’s been here,” said Trustee Mike Blessing. “I don’t have any reservations about how we’re moving in the district.”
Trustee Eleanor Evans also defended Vitale for having turned things around positively for the district during her time as superintendent.
“Dr. Vitale is a problem solver,” Evans said.
During her superintendent report, Vitale explained that four of the 11 books on the list were in the library before her and the trustees on the board. She also explained the district’s policy that outlines how concerned staff, parents and district residents can request reconsideration of books present in the school libraries.
“Per board policy, the district shall accept complaints on instructional materials only from staff, district residents, or parents and guardians of children enrolled in the school district,” Vitale said.
Parents can also specifically request for their children not to have access to certain books.
Max Disposti, director of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center, told the district his transgender child had to drop out of the Oceanside Unified School District a decade ago because it wasn’t safe back then.
Now, Disposti said, things have improved for the better in the community because of its LGBTQ inclusivity.
