Cadott School Board; Library plan questions material selection

By Julia Wolf

How are library materials selected? That was a question that came up during discussion of the library plan, at a Cadott School Board meeting Aug. 9.

Proposed changes to the current library plan include the additional language around Flipster digital magazines and maker space, since those were things the district did not have previously. District administrator Jenny Starck says the attorney made some wording and statutory changes, to make sure the district is following everything they need to follow.

Starck says they also tried to make the reconsideration policy more user friendly. The policy is a way for parents, students or staff to flag any library materials they are concerned about. The current form is available on the school website by scrolling down on the homepage and clicking the RPIC Grant information button. The form is the bottom link labeled School Library Selection Policy.

“First, they would meet with the library media specialist and talk about their concerns,” said Starck.

After that, they can fill out a formal reconsideration request outlining their objections, as well as outlining what the complainant would like to see the library do with the material.

“Part of it is just, please don’t assign it to my child,” said Starck. “Parents have that ability, if there are things that they prefer their child not check out.”

Another option is to ask the material be withdrawn from all students and be presented to a reconsideration committee. The committee is not a standing committee, but if needed, will be composed of teachers, community members, the library media specialist and two students. They will look at the item and reviews of it, before making a recommendation on whether or not it should be in the library.

The complainant can file an appeal to the school board within three days.

When it comes to library material selection in the first place, community members, students and teachers can recommend items they would like to see in the library. Nick Kotek, library media specialist, says there is a form for students to fill out materials they want.

“When I go to purchase things, I go with those requests first,” said Kotek.

Kotek says he also takes the reviews of children and young adult literature from review journals, such as those published by The Horn Book, into consideration.

“I tend to select the ones that they’ve starred,” said Kotek. “And what that basically means, is these are ones that those professional publications recommend that every single public school library has.”

Board member Brad Sonnentag asked how many new books are selected per year. Kotek says it depends on the cost of the materials, but usually around 400-500 each year.

Cory LaNou, board member, says he would also like to see the current and proposed policy side by side, so he can see the changes more clearly.

LaNou also says his understanding, from the way the policies are written, that pretty much anything is allowed in the library, because people should not be stopped from reading literature.

“But I just want to make sure that we are also in line with the values and the goals of the district,” said LaNou. “There’s some books here that have been brought to my attention, I don’t think are in line with many people.”

He says he wants to understand how the policy addresses that, other than the form.

“I don’t feel the form is really going far enough,” said LaNou.

He says he thinks the district needs to be more proactive.

“I think the community should be more aware of what’s coming in,” said LaNou.

LaNou also asked if there are any books that they bring in on requirements for grants or regulations. Starck says there are not topic requirements that she knows of.

LaNou also questioned if there is a way to notify students if a book includes strong language or more mature content. Kotek says there are age recommendations attached to every material in the library, created by the publishers and vendors, but nothing that labels a material as containing explicit language.

Board member Christine Rowe asked if there is a way to send an email or other notification to parents, telling them what their child has checked out, similar to when items are overdue. Kotek says the system does not allow him to notify which items are checked out.

Kotek says he is able to flag a family’s account, at parent request, so a note pops up specifying restrictions by age level or content type, or asking a librarian to screen the student’s selections before sending them home.

LaNou said he would like to see transparency about what is in the library and where the district goes from here.

“I think this policy should address that,” said LaNou.

Rowe asked LaNou what transparency looks like to him, such as if they should have a full list of materials available on the website.

LaNou says he would like to see something noting materials with strong language or mature content would help people understand what they are checking out, but says he does not have an answer. He also said he would like to see what other schools are doing, since he knows Cadott is not the only district running into the issue.

Board members decided to table the motion to accept the library plan, until they have more information.

Starck also gave an update for the fall COVID-19 plan, during the information portion of the meeting. As of the meeting time, Starck says the district recommends families follow CDC guidelines, but masks are not required.

“If we had some type of a mandate or an order, we would follow that,” said Starck.

Starck says ESSER funds require the district to justify how closely they are following CDC recommendations.

“That also might be a factor that we think about, because it would be significant dollars if we had to follow some parameters,” said Starck. Starck says one thing that will change during the upcoming school year, is close contacts quarantines. People who are vaccinated and do not have symptoms, do not necessarily need to quarantine. Starck says the school does not know who is and is not vaccinated, so the district will let the public health department know who was in close contact with the positive person, and public health will determine quarantines and make those contacts.

“We are going to keep in place all of the cleaning protocols that we’ve had,” said Starck.

At this time, Starck says the district is not planning to offer COVID testing or vaccinations. If a family would like resources for either of those things, they can contact Jessica Hager, school nurse.

Starck also says they are still asking people who are sick, to stay home.

Starck also says they plan to follow WIAA protocols and requirements. She says those could change throughout the year, or vary from sport to sport.

“As they change, we would follow whatever those parameters are, because we are going to want to participate,” said Starck.

Some board members asked if they could do an anonymous staff and parent survey on mask requirements, but others were concerned the survey would give the impression that the COVID plan will change based on feedback, when the district is currently recommending following CDC guidelines. The board will talk about whether to do a survey at the next Committee of the Whole meeting.

As a notice to the public, school board meetings are now livestreamed. The video and the archives are available through Hornet TV, which can be accessed under the Quick Links tab on the Cadott School District website.

Members also approved the resignation of Amber Hladilek, elementary paraprofessional.

I am deeply grateful for all your support over the years, along with the valuable experiences I had gained, wrote Hladilek. It has been a sincere pleasure working with our school family!

The board also approved the hire of Lynn Schreiner, varsity volleyball coach; Katie Goettl, high school assistant volleyball coach; Jodie Crushiel, eighth-grade volleyball coach; Amy Rykal, seventh-grade volleyball coach; and Heather Wojtczak, fifth-grade teacher. Wojtczak was also granted one-year leave from her paraprofessional position, in order to serve as the fifth-grade teacher.