PENFIELD, N.Y. — A controversy brewing in the town of Penfield is gaining national attention, as a book from an elementary school library is raising eyebrows.
Some parents are in an uproar over a book they say has pornographic images and is available to children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade.
While the Penfield Central School District says their concerns are being taken seriously, the parents say they are being silenced.
“This is soft pornography. It's inexcusable why it's in the system for elementary school kids and I want it gone,” Jennifer Selever said talking about the book in question titled, “The Rainbow Parade.”
Selever’s fifth-grade daughter brought it home from Cobbles Elementary School in Penfield in December. Selever says it’s not the story, but the images that she struggles with.
“My problem is with the photos,” she said. “I don't care if it's a heterosexual book. If you have explicit photos in a book for an elementary school kid, it's not excusable. It shouldn't happen. They shouldn't be in there.”
Selever and other parents question why the book was on the shelves and describes the portions she finds most troubling.
Reading from the book, she says, “Everyone is wearing whatever makes them feel most like themselves, even if that means wearing hardly anything at all.”
Selever adds, “You could see here this is the BDSM attire with a chain and leather straps. And this is the naked image. This one, the man is naked. He has balloons in front of his private parts. This one here, I don't know if it's a woman or a drag queen, but breasts are hanging out.”
Selever is calling on the Penfield Central School District to remove the book from the school’s library shelves.
It turns out making such a request is a process that involves many steps.
Dr. Tasha Potter, the Penfield School superintendent, described the details during Tuesday night’s school board meeting before parents were to speak. They did not have an opportunity to speak, as the board chose to end the session early.
Despite the abrupt end to the meeting, the superintendent says she wants to hear about the concerns of all parents, including those who do not have an issue with “The Rainbow Parade.”
“I have received many messages that are in complete support of our students being able to access books that are representative of their family structure, their students identities and they're very pleased to know that the district has library texts made available,” said Dr. Emily Roberts, Penfield CSD school board president.
“I'm not asking for the LGBT books to be removed. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking for this specific book to be removed because it has graphic material,” said Selever. “It's pornographic. Kids don't need to see that. That's it.”
Formal objections to the book have now been filed with the district.
The superintendent says the district will now convene a committee to review those objections.
Roberts has decided to put a pause on public comment through March and April, she says, so there is “an opportunity for us to restore our environment.”
However, parents in opposition to this book say they do not plan to stay silent.
