On June 9, 2025, the Roxbury Board of Education had an opportunity to reaffirm the work of its own book review committee—the group responsible for reviewing challenged books using an established, thoughtful process. Instead, the Board voted not to approve the committee’s recommendations regarding Gender Queer and This Book Is Gay, both of which had already been reviewed within the past two years.

Even more concerning? The board members who voted against the committee’s recommendations offered no explanation at all for their votes.

When previously challenged, the recommendations of the review committee were that Gender Queer remain in circulation, and This Book is Gay be placed behind the counter, requiring parental permission. The board at that time upheld those recommendations. The books were then challenged again, and this time the book review committee recommended that both books be in circulation, meaning that Gender Queer would remain the same, and This Book is Gay would now NOT require parental permission.

Let’s be clear: the only voices that spoke during the meeting were in support of the review committee’s findings. One BOE member even raised a crucial point—asking why they were voting at all on Gender Queer, which remains in circulation either way. The response? That a Board member requested the motion. No outcome would change. This was nothing more than political theater—a stage set up for board members to signal disapproval of books they personally dislike, despite previous reviews, despite district policy, and despite committee recommendations.

Here are members votes.

Votes for approving the recommendation of the review committee: Mr. Botero, Ms. Hernandez, Ms. Hopkins, Ms. Scheneck.

Votes against the recommendations of the review committee: Mr. Bonilla, Ms. Colucci, Ms. Galdieri, Ms. McGregor, Ms. Purcell, Mr. Milde.

📚 Timeline: A Pattern of Distraction

To understand how we got here, it’s worth revisiting the recent history of book challenges in Roxbury:

• Fall 2022 – Let’s Talk About It quietly moved behind the library counter. It has required parental permission ever since. It had been in the library since November 2021, but the timing of a formal challenge is unclear.
• January 2023 – Gender Queer was challenged, formally reviewed, and deemed appropriate to stay. It had been available since July 2020.
• March 2023 – During a public meeting, residents verbally attacked the high school librarian, calling her vile names for doing her job.
• May 2023 – After midnight, BOE member Milde called for a vote to remove nine books pending review—even though no new challenges had been filed. Of the 11 books being discussed:
  • 7 had never been checked out
  • 4 had been checked out between 2–6 times, some by administrators for evaluation
• June 2023 – This Book Is Gay was challenged, and like Let’s Talk About It, it was placed behind the counter with a parental permission requirement.
• July 2023 – Flamer and Fun Home were challenged and kept on the shelves following review.

As of November 2024, no new formal challenges had been filed.

And yet this month, two books—already reviewed and processed—were once again dragged into the spotlight.

❓A Pointless Vote With a Political Message

The June 9, 2025 agenda included the following items:

• “That at the request of a Board of Education member, the Roxbury Township Board of Education approves the Book Review Committee’s findings for This Book Is Gay.”
• “That at the request of a Board of Education member, the Roxbury Township Board of Education approves the Book Review Committee’s findings for Gender Queer.”

The outcome? The Board voted not to approve the committee’s findings—again, without offering a single word of justification from those voting “no.”

One member did ask: What’s the point of voting on a book already in circulation? Would the outcome change anything?

The answer? No.

The book is still available. The vote was symbolic. The message was clear: this wasn’t about policy or protecting kids. This was about public posturing, ideology, and attempting to delegitimize the work of professionals and educators who followed the established process.

🏫 Real Problems, Ignored

While the Board spends time on performative book votes, Roxbury schools are facing serious challenges:

• Severe budget shortfalls
• Teacher resignations and positions left unfilled
• Elimination of the Assistant Superintendent role
• Lost Title I funding, impacting support for our most vulnerable students
• Overcrowded classrooms
• Learning loss and mounting stress on staff and students

Where is the same urgency to solve these problems?

📣 The Real Hypocrisy

The books at the center of this debate—Gender Queer and This Book Is Gay—have already been reviewed. One is still openly available (Gender Queer), the other (This Book Is Gay) is behind the counter, requiring parental permission.

If you don’t want your child to read a book, you can opt out. But trying to make that decision for everyone else’s children? That’s not parenting. That’s censorship.

And when BOE members use their positions not to solve problems, but to grandstand against books they don’t like—without even explaining why—they betray the trust of this community.

Roxbury deserves a Board of Education focused on educational excellence, not political messaging. Our kids can’t afford anything less.