Planting Seeds That Grow Forever

To: All Grants Pass Education Association Union Members

Date: September 20, 2024

Subject: Important: Support Our Librarian at the Board Policy Meeting

Dear Members,

I am writing to urge you to attend the upcoming Grants Pass School Board Policy Meeting on Tuesday, September 24th, from 5 to 7 PM at the District Office. This meeting will be discussing Policy IIA – Instructional and Library Media Resources and Materials, and it is crucial that we show our support for our librarian and our opposition to any proposed changes that could negatively impact our students' access to diverse and inclusive resources.

Our librarian plays a vital role in providing our students with the tools and materials they need to succeed academically and personally. Any changes to Policy IIA that would restrict the availability of certain resources could have a detrimental effect on our students' education and social emotional mental health.

Please mark your calendars and make every effort to attend this important meeting. Your presence will demonstrate our collective commitment to ensuring that our students have access to the best possible educational resources.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

The GPEA Executive Team

GPEA Public Statement on Changes to Library Material Selection Policy

The Grants Pass Education Association strongly opposes efforts by the Grants Pass School Board to take decisions about library and classroom materials out of the hands of highly trained experts and instead hand them over to a political committee made up largely of non-professional personnel. Not only would this decision place an enormous burden on librarians and other educators who are simply trying to do their jobs by requiring bureaucratic approval of all books and supplementary materials used in our classrooms, it would also create the potential for a highly politicized review process that could result in the censorship and banning of library materials.

We urge the board to abandon this attempt to circumvent trained educators, like librarians, who are experts in their fields and instead maintain a district policy the empowers educators to do the jobs for which they were trained and hired.