SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) – Instead of a committee, one person will decide the fate of Fort Bend ISD’s library books.

The book dispute is at the center of Fort Bend ISD. On Monday, the school board passed a policy that allows the principal to remove books, rather than a five-member committee.

Anna Lykoudis Zafiris was thrilled by the change.

Zafiris is a member of a Friends of the Libraries group at FBISD. She spoke at Monday’s meeting about the proposed policy, which she said would give the superintendent too much power.

“This is a very bad omen for the district,” Zafiris said. “It shows that these board members have no respect for professionals in the education field.”

Before the new policy, when a book was challenged, the district would purchase five copies for the committee to read and decide whether the book should stay, be removed, or be restricted.

The policy allows the superintendent or a designee to remove a book. The superintendent can also set up a committee but would have the authority to overturn any recommendation on his own.

“This is a compromising situation for a superintendent because the board has influence and power over him,” Zafiris said. “He could lose his job for acting at the discretion of the board.”

One board member has been pushing for this change for months. Earlier this summer, ABC13 obtained documents from the district showing that David Hamilton was the only board member to object to books this year.

After the article was published, Hamilton told ABC13 that up to 10 other people had also challenged the books. Hamilton said he challenged the books even though he had not read them, only excerpts.

Months ago, he explained why he wanted fewer decision-makers.

“I think that this process is appropriate if it’s more of a debatable gray area, but I don’t think anyone would say that we should have a textbook in our libraries where a teacher hits on a 12-year-old and then has a sexual relationship with her,” Hamilton said in June.

In documents obtained by ABC13, Hamilton said the books in question were suitable for perverted adults. However, the review committee did not remove all of the books.

A University of Houston education professor told ABC13 the importance of having a diverse committee involved in the process. Some parents expressed concern that books could easily disappear from shelves.

“We have to trust the trainers,” Zafiris said. “That’s why we train the new doctors, lawyers, teachers, librarians and astronauts. They have a job to do.”

The only person ABC13 hasn’t heard from about the potential change is the person who might be tasked with removing books – the janitor.

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