25 books banned from Marietta City Schools reading center
MARIETTA, Ga. - Twenty-five books have been banned from the Marietta City Schools' reading center.
Last month, the district voted to ban 23 books. Since then, parents have filed appeals to keep every single one of those books on the shelves.
Related: Almost 2 dozen books banned for 'sexual, inappropriate content' by Marietta City Schools
Before the vote Tuesday night, parents on both sides argued their points.
"It's about removing sexually explicit material paid for by taxpayer funds," said Matt Anderson.
"Show me the data about the harm these books cause because the data is telling us they only create positive outcomes," said Jenny Storino.
These 23 books are in addition to two books that were removed back in the fall, "Flamer and Me" and "Earl and the Dying Girl."
Tuesday night, the school board rejected the appeal by a vote of 6-1.
Karla Jacobs is with Marietta in the Middle, a group of parents that wrote the appeals.
"We're disappointed in what happened tonight. The biggest losers in this whole book ban debacle are the students who have lost important books from their media center that speak to their lives and experiences," said Jacobs.
Becky Simmons is pleased children will no longer have access to these books in the school library.
"I am so grateful for a school board and having Dr. Grant Rivera for having a set standard of what should be allowed in our school system," said Simmons.
Mark Oshiro is an author of children's books who lives in metro Atlanta. While none of his books were pulled from the Marietta City Schools' libraries, his books have been banned in other states.
"I've been dealing with this for six years since my first book banning. I'm not a stranger to it, it's just increased in intensity. I'm very happy to see so many other parents and educators fighting back," said Oshiro.
Supt. Grant Rivera says a committee of educators spent thousands of hours determining which books were not appropriate for students. He's hoping the district can now move forward.
"I want to bring this community back together in the way that this created divisiveness and hope to continue to make decisions for the kids," said Dr. Rivera.