Moms for Liberty chair demands firings of Deltona principal, others over book celebrations
A Moms for Liberty official took aim during Tuesday's Volusia County School Board meeting at two high schools' social media posts celebrating books she claimed were "illegal" and labeling staff as "groomers
."
Jenifer Kelly, the Volusia chapter chair of Moms for Liberty, said Deltona and New Smyrna Beach high schools posted photos on Facebook celebrating Literacy Week in the last week of January. Some of the photos showed books on shelves and being held
by students and staff that she found objectionable enough that she took several minutes during public comment to read graphic excerpts depicting sex and rape.
There was almost no reaction from board members or district staff.
At one point, after Kelly had read several minutes worth of passages she found objectionable from "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini and "Onyx Storm," by Rebecca Yarros, School Board Chair Jamie Haynes interrupted: "Please cut the mic. Please stop."
Haynes asked Kelly to share some of the photos with a district staffer.
One of the photos Kelly shared was of Deltona High School Principal Christina Lapnow, who wore a T-shirt reading "FREADOM," in front of shelves of books. On that shelf, Kelly spotted three books that concerned her: "The Kite Runner," "Last Night at the Telegraph Club," by Malinda Lo, and "Sold," by Patricia McCormick.