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Republican nominee for state superintendent of public instruction Megan Degenfelder came to Natrona County’s school board meeting on Monday to weigh in on the district’s book controversy, …
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Republican nominee for state superintendent of public instruction Megan Degenfelder came to Natrona County’s school board meeting on Monday to weigh in on the district’s book controversy, saying the books at issue aren’t appropriate for children.
But Degenfelder also stressed that she supported local control and said the decision on library books lies with school boards.
Monday was the first time Degenfelder had appeared at a Natrona County school board meeting to speak on the issue.
Since December 2021, community members in Natrona County have come to the school board to complain about books in the Kelly Walsh High School library that they say are “pornographic.”
The district learned on Friday that a copy of “Gender Queer” is also in the Natrona County High School library, according to a statement from the district.
A committee reviewed the books in question — “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel about the author’s explorations of gender identity and sexuality, and “Trans Bodies, Trans Selves,” a resource guide for transgender individuals — and decided early last month to keep the books in Kelly Walsh High School.
Community members, however, filed an appeal to challenge the decision on Thursday.
That means the school board itself will have to take a vote on whether or not to keep the books. Trustee Rita Walsh said she expects that vote will take place before the end of November.
Degenfelder, a Casper native, said she respects “local decision making and local control in all areas of government.”
But she also thinks the books aren’t suitable for minors and “an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds.”
“Explicit and arousing sexual graphics are not the best and only way to support our LGBTQ students,” she said. “There are many places for books such as ‘Gender Queer,’ and ‘Trans Bodies, Trans Selves’ to exist as resources for adult individuals.”
She ended her comments saying that she is ready to work with the school board to “navigate these difficult issues.”
Degenfelder will face Democratic state superintendent nominee Sergio Maldonado in the November elections.
