VICTOR JOECKS: CCSD scolds man for reading school library book

Reading from a Clark County School District library book will get you scolded and silenced by the School Board president.

During last Thursday’s board meeting, scores of parents gathered to protest the district’s transgender policy. Pastor John Amanchukwu tried to offer a public comment, but he didn’t get very far.

“Anal sex, blowjobs and orgasms are not criteria for the SAT,” he said.

Midway through that sentence, board President Evelyn Garcia Morales interrupted him. “Stop. No, stop. Stop. Absolutely not,” she said.

Garcia Morales kept the pastor’s public comment time running, even as she continued to interrupt him. “I’m going to ask you to not use profanity,” she said.

In most circumstances, she would be justified in that request. Some topics aren’t appropriate for a School Board meeting. But Amanchukwu wasn’t trying to be crude. He was making a point that every parent needs to know but the district doesn’t want you to hear it. His audio level dropped dramatically on the district’s video feed. It sounded like someone cut his microphone. A video from the crowd revealed what he said next.

He held a book called “Flamer,” which is available in school libraries. He began quoting passages describing oral sex.

Garcia Morales objected strenuously, “Your language is inappropriate.”

The crowd of concerned parents howled at the hypocrisy. If Garcia Morales doesn’t believe such language is appropriate for a board meeting, why is the district providing those reading materials to children?

Last year, the district provided me with a list of books available in school libraries. “Flamer” is available to high school students as both a print and digital book. It’s available to middle schoolers — children as young as 11 — as a digital book.

I asked the district this question twice. If a book’s language is inappropriate for the adults in a district board meeting, why is it available for students? The district provided no answer.

Instead, it sent a statement saying First Amendment rights “do not allow individuals to disrupt the business of the district, and/or public broadcasting standards as the meetings are shared over broadcast stations.”

You can’t say it on TV, but the district will give it to your children.

The only good news here is that Amanchukwu wasn’t alone. The newly formed Moms for Liberty Clark County mobilized many other parents to speak out that night. You can tell they’re making a difference, because they’re already being personally attacked.

Last month, Trustee Linda Cavazos tweeted the group was a “cancer that we absolutely will not allow to spread in our community.” Read that again. That’s what an elected trustee thinks of parents who object to the sexual grooming of their children. She should resign in disgrace.

Cristiane Mersch helps run that group. She told the board that she wears that insult as a “badge of honor.”

Good for her and other parents who objected. District officials hope to bully them into silence, because they can’t defend the books schools offer to children.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.