At a Bear Valley Unified School district board meeting, two members of the public addressed library books and related training policies and asked the board to place the matter on a future agenda.

Bobby (last name not provided), a resident who opened the public comment period, said the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution should be taught and argued that some books in school libraries “describe things that are unhealthy, and they're immoral,” adding that counseling and outside agencies are available to help students who have experienced trauma. He urged the board to make the book issue an agenda item so the public could hear where board members stand.

Sarah Gordon Thomas, who identified herself as a parent of two Bear Valley Unified students, urged the board to keep school libraries “safe and welcoming” for all students and said the district should not “bow to pressure from organizations who want to limit access to knowledge.” She said she supports the district’s compliance with what she called the “Safe and Supportive Schools Act” and stated, “AB 5 does not mandate any sort of LGBTQ curriculum for students; its sole aim is to provide training for our teachers.”

During the public comment exchange, a board member asked whether the public commenter had provided a list of specific books of concern; the commenter said she had. A district staff member, identified in the meeting as Mister Marquez, said he had investigated the books and how they got into the libraries and that they were not part of the curriculum.

No formal board action was taken at the meeting on library collections. Board members and staff said the Brown Act limits board responses during public comment, and at least one speaker asked that the item be scheduled so the public could get direct feedback from trustees.

The board’s public comment procedures were read at the meeting and referenced Education Code sections read aloud by meeting staff on the record.

The discussion remained in the public comment portion of the meeting; there was no motion to change or remove specific titles during the session.