GRAND RAPIDS- The Zeeland Board of Education has decided not to discuss the district superintendent's decision to remove the popular Harry Potter children's book series from school library shelves.
At a meeting Monday, Board President Tom Bock gave board members a chance to to add the issue to the meeting's agenda. No one took the offer, the Holland Sentinel reported Tuesday.
Despite the board's decision not to discuss Superintendent Gary Feenstra's decision to remove the books by Scottish author J.K. Rowling, several members of the community spoke out.
About 25 of the nearly 100 people in attendance spoke about the issue. A little more than half who spoke said they were against Feenstra's decision, the Grand Rapids Press reported.
Most said they thought the books were good for students to read, or complained about how the decision to remove them was made.
"I'm here to ask that this board free Harry Potter," said Zeeland resident Mary Van Harn. "I could use use those books to teach Sunday school. They're filled with role models."
In a Nov. 22 memo, Feenstra said the fantasy books about a boy wizard cannot be on school library shelves or be read aloud in class.
Students may check out the books or do a report on them after showing written permission from parents. The superintendent also said the schools will not purchase any more of the books.
Feenstra said violence in the books are "red lights." He acted after he said parents' complaints were made against the book in three elementary schools.
"This stuff is real, and kids can get mixed up in it," said Lisa VanDerKolk. She said the books, which contain stories about witchcraft and wizardry, could give children ideas.
Earlier this month, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, based in New York, and the American Library Association, based in Chicago, sent letters to Bock, citing the restrictions as First Amendment violations and a breach of school policy.