Opting to speak publicly on the recently resolved matter, Board of Education Chair Deborra Zukowski offered a letter to The Newtown Bee Editor this week to “set the record straight” in the wake of divisive district book challenges.

In her “Letter Hive” submission, Zukowski noted she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of the school board.

The challenges, concerning two graphic novels and their possible removal from the Newtown High School library, sparked intense discourse during the spring semester. The challenges from those wishing to remove the materials drew many concerned citizens and prompted hours of public participation during regular and special board meetings, as well as two public protests organized by leaders of the local Democratic Town Committee.

The Bee received and published a plethora of letters on the subject. Most voices argued to either retain or reject the books Flamer and/or Blankets, while some called for a compromise.

In her letter, Zukowski reviewed the history of the challenges, noting “sexually explicit pictures” drove parents to initiate the BOE’s Book Challenge Process, and “disturbed administrators.”

Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo and Assistant Superintendent Anne Uberti were among those expressing a change of attitude about the books once they read them.

“I have to admit I was very, very surprised by the illustrations because I didn’t know what I was looking at,” Uberti said at the special committee meeting on April 20. “As an adult I feel like I should know this lesson, but context matters, because once I read the book, my opinion changed greatly.”

Reporting from the May 2 meeting and pending his recommendation, Melillo also said he changed his mind about the books when he “evaluated them holistically.” He explained he made a mistake in viewing content out of context, and added he understood that some may object to how the important messages of the book are delivered.

Zukowski wrote that following the initiation of the book challenge process at the board level, “a few people on both sides sought to cast the challenge in an extreme manner.”

“These extremists added to their numbers by convincing others that the issue was, for example, about sexual grooming or that ‘sexually explicit’ was code for anti-LGBTQ+ bias,” Zukowski wrote, adding these ideas were not true for Newtown.

According to Zukowski, “concerns were centered on age-appropriateness of sexual content and parental input.”

Zukowski expressed disappointment that the special committee’s recommendation, delivered on May 2, was limited exclusively to the option of leaving the books as before, or removing them.

Zukowski also referenced Uberti’s statement about “potential solutions that might fall somewhere in the middle.”

The Bee reported at the May 2 meeting, Uberti said she believed there needed to be a path forward that included compromise, or she feared the challenge “cycle” would continue. She told the school board that she met with library media specialists to “explore ways to address the concerns of both sides.”

Uberti said “any path forward must be in consideration of first amendment rights,” and “perhaps the most amenable solution” may be for parents to submit a list of books to restrict their children from checking out.

“What a wonderful example that would be for our kids: to show them that adults can disagree, but through the sharing of differing opinions and respectful listening, we can find common ground,” Uberti said on May 2.

In her letter, Zukowski said the May 2 meeting was the first to include public consideration of community voices, although she acknowledged board members had previously received e-mails, comments at other meetings, and “other forms of public communication.”

The letter recalls after hearing the report and suggestion by Uberti, board members asked questions to understand how they could “better support diverse family values and cultures in a manner that would be both workable and reasonable.” She said these questions sought to understand options “between the two extremes.”

Zukowski said this focus by most board members “to honor both the staff recommendation and diverse family values” continued in subsequent meetings, which should have been clear to those closely following them. She wrote there was never a motion made to remove the books.

“Instead, the majority simply agreed that the initial motion needed to be amended to more fully reflect the reality behind the challenge and the values of our families and overall community,” wrote Zukowksi, adding the board’s final and unanimous decision accomplished this.

The motion on June 1 ultimately delivered by Board Member Alison Plante, was to retain the books “provided that the administration develops a process to address individual or parent guardian concerns related to their children.”

Zukowski wrote in her letter that the motion “augmented the committee’s recommendation to acknowledge the social, cultural, and emotional diversity of our students and families.” She called the process “unnecessarily difficult,” citing “acrimony, labeling, and overt pressure” on those involved as being “unbecoming” of Newtown.

Zukowski was likely referencing numerous calls for order the chair requested in response to outbursts and outspoken attendees. At points during those meetings, she suggested they should be removed for continuously interrupting proceedings.

Jennifer Larkin and Janet Kuzma both resigned from the school board toward the end of the process, with Kuzma citing “abhorrent and vile” behavior during the challenges in her resignation letter.

In her statement, Kuzma said the environment was “hostile,” with a “complete lack of condemnation of this behavior by leadership at all levels.” She included that her family was unwillingly brought into the conversation by “a vocal minority of school employees and community members.”

To conclude her letter to the editor, Zukowski gave her thanks to those who ignored misinformation “planted by a few extremists and political opportunists,” and to those who contributed constructively and with support for the board.

Reporter Noelle Veillette can be reached at noelle@thebee.com.