Published: August 20, 2008 01:02 am            

NEWFANE: Book stirs discussion at school board meeting

NEWFANE — A book that contains some controversial material has some Newfane residents upset.

Written by Larry Watson, “Montana 1948” is required reading for incoming high school juniors. The book contains at least two passages that could be found as offensive, each containing descriptive information. One involves a boy seeing a woman get out of the shower, and the other deals with a character describing rape.

School board member Donna Pieszala said at the board meeting Tuesday she was contacted by parents about the book, one even saying the teacher who assigned it should be fired.

“I had three phone calls today after it was discussed on a radio station,” she said.

Superintendent Gary Pogorzelski said he discussed the matter with high school principal Steven Burley and the teacher who assigned the book. He said that the book could be substituted.

“Right now we are presenting options to the kids and the families that disagree with that book,” Pogorzelski said. “If there’s a problem with the book, you got to go to the principal and say ‘I want to exercise my right to another option.’ ”

Pieszala said she suggested to a parent to speak with the principal, but the parent responded they didn’t want to single out their child and have the teacher make an issue of it.

Board president Patrick Kilcullen said the board should be careful to not assume a passage is representative of the entire book. The first step for parents would be to go to the principal as the appropriate action, he said.

“We can offer a mechanism for parents to address it; we can’t assure they do,” he said. “We have a process in place. Anyone uncomfortable with it should contact the principal.”

Board member David Adams said at board meeting Aug. 11 one of the passages was e-mailed to him by a parent. He read the passage to the board and called it “smut.” On Tuesday, he said kids might not understand the context of the entire book, instead just remember certain parts.

“Not every kid will get that kind of information,” he said. “It’s the descriptive aspect of it. If I want that kind of description, I’ll go buy a Playboy. Why is that content there for kids to read?”

Pogorzelski said he encountered a similar event when he was principal. What was done then was that options were presented to the students whose families disagreed with the choice of required books.

“From time to time, it is difficult to predict what is objectionable,” Pogorzelski said. “What about the kids who read it? They don’t want to do a second one.”

No residents spoke about the book in the public forum. Pogorzelski said the book will be re-evaluated by the district.

In other news, the board appointed Debra Zapp as an intern serving as assistant principal at the high school. Zapp, a math teacher for 17 years, will stay at the same salary while serving in the new position. Pogorzelski said the move is a budget savings of about $35,000 to $40,000.

The position of high school assistant principal will remain vacant for the upcoming school year.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick

at 439-9222, ext. 6241.

        

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