The Strategy

 

"It's an absolute travesty, but it would appear that you won't be stopped until, hopefully, the lawsuits begin in earnest." --Amy Jane Hoogstraet Safley

By Gretchen Garrity

The battle to make libraries safe again for children is a minefield. Organizations like the American Library Association (ALA) are extremely organized and well funded, and they often offer resources to those who oppose parental rights and the protection of children from age inappropriate and sexually explicit materials.

The political agenda to sexually indoctrinate children and demoralize them is well documented in books like "The Naked Communist," by W. Cleon Skousen. I want to thank the Christian County Library staff for purchasing this book for its collection.

While court decisions are beginning to move in a direction that recognizes the rights of parents, and the rights of public libraries to curate their collections without forced book shelving, the battle is still deeply engaged.

A recent case in Wyoming illustrates how complex the issue can be. A library director, Terri Lesley, was fired in 2023 and later sued under federal law. According to an article just published, "Lesley claimed that she was discriminated against because of her association with and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Three more claims alleged that the commissioners and library board violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects people who oppose discriminatory practices against, advocate on behalf of, and associate with protected classes."

Not only did Lesley sue her county commission and the library board, but she has also sued a family in the community in a separate suit. While that suit is in the discovery phase, the suit against the library board and commission has been settled: "According to a settlement agreement provided to the News Record, the commission and the library board settled with Lesley for $700,000. The settlement agreement 'is not to be construed as an admission of liability by any party,' according to the court document."

Lesley had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2023, which this year gave her a notice of right to sue. These things take time to shake out.

In exchange for the money to be paid out to Lesley and her attorneys, the former director agreed to dismiss the suit. This is common in such cases, because insurance companies are hesitant for lawsuits to go forward with expensive litigation costs.

Note that while the legal arguments were based on personal discrimination claims against the library director, Lesley's lawyer stated: "...that she hopes this sends the message that 'elected and appointed officials need to represent the interest of their entire community, not just a small band of activists.'

“'It is really important to remember the ideals of America,' she said. 'We do not discriminate, we believe in the First Amendment.'”

Of ten claims, only two mentioned First Amendment violations: "The seventh and eighth claims for relief had to do with the First Amendment. They argued that as a public employee, Lesley could not suppress the First Amendment rights of library users 'by censoring books based on disfavored content or their association with historically marginalized minority groups.'

They also alleged that the commissioners and library board participated in 'viewpoint discrimination and retaliation,' meaning they engaged in 'censorship based on their disagreement with the content of Ms. Lesley’s protected speech and association.'”

Of course, none of these claims will be heard in court because the case has been settled. However, court cases like Little v. Llano and Peter Parnell v. School Board of Escambia County, Florida, and The Roxbury Moms are bringing clarity to the issue of age inappropriate and sexually explicit books in school and public libraries. The Parnell suit is being appealed to the 11th Circuit Court.

 "If appointees have, indeed, engaged in unlawful activity, what is the most effective action that a citizen can take to ensure that taxpayer funds are not used to defend trustees engaging in personal activity that does not serve the best interests of our county?" -- Greg Swick

Note in the two screenshots I provided that local activist citizens are suggesting lawsuits or other actions may or should be taken against the Christian County Library District and/or the board members. These are not the only examples that are out there. This is an aggressive strategy being used all over the United States to force a viewpoint, to force shelving of books, and to deny parental rights--not to mention the protection of children.

Mr. Swick is a retired teacher who seems to hope that actions be taken against the board of trustee members as individuals outside of their official actions as a board, thereby depriving these unpaid volunteers of legal costs protection. Incidentally, Mr. Swick's Facebook comment was very quickly deleted from U-turn in Education's page. However, a screenshot was obtained.  U-turn in Education was founded by MSU professor Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk.

Truth Matters

 

By Gretchen Garrity

After almost three years of attempting to work with the Christian County Library District to protect children and the rights of parents, the public is seeing what amounts to a sea change at the library.

A turnover of four of five Library Board of Trustee members, and the resignation of the former executive director, Renee Brumett, has lead to some significant changes:

• Citizen visibility of the Board packet (including reports, finances, etc.)
  
• Expanded public comment time
• Subcommittee formed to rewrite policies and bylaws to better reflect state statutes and federal laws, including collection policies that dictate book/material selections
  
• Subcommittee formed to bring greater transparency to Library District finances
  
• Disassociation from the ALA and MLA, both of which advocate for socialist/Marxist agendas in libraries, as well as providing minors with age-inappropriate materials that include hyper-sexualization and transgender agendas.
  

The Library Board has faced significant opposition from activists in the community. That continues with the news of the former interim executive director's firing. Former Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships Tory Pegram, who was acting as the interim executive director, was fired according to KMSU's Chris Drew.

Activists who oppose the current board's changes have taken to social media. Unfortunately, in their haste and anger, they report untruths. Here is one:

 

Amy Jane Hoogstraet Safley (who previously applied for appointment to the Library Board) asserts the Board had no authority to terminate the employment of Pegram, who apparently stepped down from the interim executive director spot shortly before she was fired. Two things:

State statute grants county library boards broad powers to govern their library districts. RSMo 182.200 states in part:

"182.200.  Board, organization, powers, duties — funds, management and disbursement — exchange services. — 1.  The trustees, immediately after appointment, shall meet and organize by the election of one of their number as president, and by the election of such other officers as they may deem necessary.

  2.  They shall make and adopt such bylaws, rules and regulations for their own guidance, and for the government of the library, as may be expedient, and not inconsistent with sections 182.140 to 182.301.

  3.  They shall appoint a properly qualified librarian who shall be the chief executive and administrative officer for the library.

  4.  They shall have the exclusive control of the expenditure of all moneys collected to the credit of the library fund, and of the construction of any library building, and of the supervision, care and custody of the grounds, rooms or buildings constructed, leased, or set apart for that purpose..."

The statute does not delineate or limit a library board's power over any employee under their governance. If a library board has bylaws that limit their own power to govern the library district, state statute would necessarily take precedence if needed. Indeed, a governing board has the power to set aside their bylaws if necessity dictates.

Secondly, since Pegram apparently stepped down from the interim executive director position without assigning another staff member to the position, she effectively handed over the reins to the Library Board, which is the governing authority of the Library District. The library staff are not authorized to govern themselves. Taxpayer-funded entities and their employees are governed by the people through their elected and publicly appointed representatives.

Additionally, the Library District's personnel handbook (5.10 Resignation Policy) states, "Letters of resignation will be submitted to the Executive Director. At least four weeks notice is required for all Administrative level positions and two weeks notice for other staff members."

While it is not known when Pegram submitted a notice of resignation to the Library Board, there should have been enough time to appoint another interim director. According to KSMU's Drew, "The board expects to appoint a new interim director in the meantime." This means no one was assigned those duties when Pegram stepped down as interim director.

Hoogstraet Safley went on to accuse the Christian County Commissioners of gross incompetence for appointing four of five current members of the Library Board. This is intemperate and false and should be retracted, as well as the statement that the Library Board had no authority to terminate the former interim executive director.

Truth matters.