LEANDER, Texas — Thursday night, Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing briefly addressed Tuesday's Williamson County Commissioners meeting. In Tuesday's meeting, county commissioners voted to withhold CARES Act funding from Leander ISD and Round Rock ISD because of some reading materials that are made available to students.
"We believe that we answered all of the questions that they had today," Gearing said in Thursday's LISD school board meeting. "We understand that the commissioners court will meet again on Tuesday morning and they will make a decision at that time as to whether LISD will receive any of the further flow-through funding or not."
Gearing noted district leaders met with Judge Bill Gravell and Commissioner Cynthia Long specifically. Both voted to withhold the funding until further investigation into the book review process within LISD.
"We have remained transparent throughout this process, and our board has reviewed and recently approved policy that continues to guide us as we move forward in this space," Gearing said.
On Friday, Long sent an email to Gearing saying that she would "support granting" the district nearly $4 million in CARES Act funding on two conditions. One was that the district remove 11 books, which have already taken out of high school student book clubs and classrooms, from all libraries. Another was that the federal funding be used for eligible expenses provided in a list to the county.
The next day, Dec. 18, Gearing responded to Long's email and referred her to fill out a "Request for Reconsideration" form for each of the books. The school district told KVUE it cannot confirm if Long or any other commissioners have filled out the form, and would not be able to do so until at least Jan. 3, 2022, as the district is closed for winter break.
The complaint form is open to those living within the district's boundaries and includes several questions asking for objections to specific materials, if the respondent has reviewed the material in its entirety and what they suggest to use instead of the material in question.
Commissioner Russ Boles already met with Round Rock ISD leaders regarding their book review policies on Tuesday.
Parents at LISD's meeting Thursday voiced their frustration for commissioners withholding funding as well as the books available for students.
"Our objection to sexually explicit material is not banning books," one parent read. "It is simply a serious concern of what our child, our children, are exposed to when we send them to our publicly-funded schools, a place where trust should never be broken."
"I'm here tonight to ask where the data is that supports the removal of 11 books from our classroom libraries and our book club choices," another said. "Those of you that have read "Fahrenheit 451" are students who have the choice to reform. "Fahrenheit 451" are going to learn about a book or learn through a book about censorship and how it actually harms society, and that often censorship has to do with fear from people that don't like what's being said."
Tuesday, Williamson County Commissioners will vote on whether or not to extend additional CARES Act to Leander ISD and Round Rock ISD.
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