Lexington District Two School Board meeting. Photo Michael Reed.
In his book “When Nations Die: Ten Warning Signs of a Culture in Crisis” (1994), author Jim Nelson Black, noted parallels that are responsible for a nation’s moral decline. Among those are: “rise in immorality,” “decay of religious belief,” and “devaluing of human life.” All three are present in Lexington County and are being adopted by Lexington County School District Two board members and promoted in the public school libraries there.
But, nothing goes unnoticed when the eyes of the public are awakened. Parents Advocating for Children’s Education, also known as PACE, a parent advocacy group is buckling down on progressive trends in the taxpayer funded public education system. Their starting point: literature in schools.
At the last two district review meetings, the grassroots organization voted on a total of eight books currently available in Lexington 2 School District libraries. With a rise of liberal ideals in literature-–including gender identity, critical race theory, and LGBTQ+ themes-–PACE is determined to keep inappropriate literature off the shelves.
PACE was formed in 2022 to hold Lexington School District Two accountable as unacceptable immoral ideologies infiltrate public education. Over 100 parents, educators, and other community members joined within the first month. At the last meeting, PACE had to pull in more chairs to accommodate the crowd. As their numbers grow, their goals remain the same: advocate for transparency, increase parental involvement, and promote excellence in our next generation’s education.
The next step? Weed out inappropriate literature in school libraries.
On July 24, 2023, the committee voted on four books. They decided to keep all four in circulation. The
committee was made up of one parent and six Lexington 2 employees, including an Airport High School librarian. The inclusion of the school librarian appears to be a clear conflict of interest. The results of the vote were as follows:
1. Tilt by Ellen Hopkins: 5 voted to Retain / 2 voted to Remove
2. Grown by Tiffany Jackson: 4 to Retain / 3 to Remove
3. The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitsimmons: 4 to Retain / 3 to Remove
4. Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad: 4 to Retain / 3 to Remove
On August 1, 2023, the committee voted on another four books. They decided to keep three of the four books in circulation. The fourth, The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, has been removed from the middle school level but retained at the high school level. The committee was made up of five district employees. The results were as follows:
1. Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne:
○ High School: 3 to Retain / 2 to Remove
○ Middle School: 4 to Retain / 1 to Remove
2. Stamped for Kids by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi: 5 to Retain / 0 to Remove
3. Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass : 4 to Retain / 1 to Remove
4. The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas:
○ High School: 4 to Retain / 1 to Remove
○ Middle School 0 to Retain / 5 to Remove
When PACE called attention to the lack of parental representation on the committee, one of the committee members–-an elementary school counselor–-reasoned that everyone is a parent. He said that he “does not have any children personally, but that [he considers] all the children of Lexington Two to be [his] children.”
The same individual later asserted that PACE is made up of people with “tunnel vision”, and that it is “racist” because of its lack of African American members. According to Whitnie Hendrix this is false, considering there are African American members in the organization. Hendrix, who recorded the results at the last two district review meetings, also stated his conduct was “extremely unprofessional and quite concerning.”
Between the conflict of interest and the lack of parental representation at each meeting, PACE’s
examination of school libraries has revealed a serious lack of objectivity on the voting committee. In Hendrix’s report, she wrote, “There are some glaring discrepancies and inconsistencies of the administration of this policy that should concern parents and citizens.” PACE will soon appeal the results of the committee votes to the school board.
The fourth district review meeting was held on August 18, 2023 in the boardroom at the District Education Center. The three books in question were A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée, He/She/They/Them by Rebecca Stanborough, and This Book is Antiracist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell. Each book was challenged for themes of critical race theory, gender ideology, and other obscenities.
As PACE gears up for the next district review meeting, they say “it is important to remember why we fight the good fight in the first place: to protect our children, to raise parental participation, and to prevent our public school system from falling into the snares of progressive ideologies. One book at a time, we will restore our education system to excellency.”
Lexington District 2 School Board members reviewed and approved these books. You may attend a Board meeting and also reach out to your elected School Board members at the addresses below:
LEXINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT TWO
715 Ninth Street, West Columbia, SC 29169
(803)796-4708
Superintendent Lexington County School District Two, Dr. Brenda Hafner
(803) 739-8399
bhafner@lex2.org
Board Chair Beth “Beth” Dickerson Branham
beth@bethbranhamlaw.com
Vice-Chair Cynthia M. “Cindy” Kessler
ckessler@sc.rr.com
Secretary Elizabeth “Liz” Castles
l2b-lcastles@lex2.k12.sc.us
Kevin Key
l2b-kevinkey@lex2.org
Linda Wooten
lwooten15865@sc.rr.com
Christina Rucker
christina.rucker07@gmail.com
Abbott “Tre” Bray
l2b-tbray@lex2.org
Camryn Hambrick lives in Lexington, South Carolina with her family and labradoodle, Bob Ross. Her writing has appeared in Interlochen Review and Fish Barrel Review. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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