A Monday evening school board meeting for Maine School Administrative District 51 (MSAD #51) adjourned after a parent raised concerns over pornographic books in the district’s school libraries.
Scott Jordan of Cumberland, the parent of a child in MSAD # 51, presented the board with documents showing that Cumberland’s Greely High School contains several obscene and pornographic books.
According to Follet Learning’s Destiny Library Manager, Greely High School’s library stocks “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe, a book which contains graphic depictions of oral sex and strap-on dildos.
[RELATED: Portland Democrat Rep Compares “Gender Queer” to Bible]
Here is a list of other books on the shelves of the Greely High School Library:
- “Be Gay, Do Comics: Queer History, Memoir, and Satire from the Nib” by Matt Bors
- “A Queer History of the United States for Young People” by Michael Bronski
- “Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World” by Sarah Prager
- “Fine: A Comic About Gender” by Rhea Ewing
- “All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto” by George M. Johnson
Prior to beginning his prepared comments, Jordan was informed by board chair Leanne Candura that his public comment time would be limited to three minutes, despite the speaker prior to Jordan speaking for over six minutes.
CANDURA: I do see that there’s a lot of people in the audience, I would like just maybe to ask, I think we typically do three minutes.
JORDAN: I think we should go longer, that was a lot longer than three minutes.
CANDURA: Yeah, and I, thank you.
JORDAN: If I can have five, no more than five.
CANDURA: I think we have a lot on our agenda tonight.
JORDAN: Ma’am, I hear you loud and clear, but that was far more than three minutes, I think you would agree.
CANDURA: Thank you.
“This is the only time we have to do board business, and so I appreciate everyone here tonight and I want to give the opportunity for people to speak if they’re here to speak,” Candura said, at which time Jordan began his presentation.
“The current education system in our country, our state and our community is completely upside down — I assume many can appreciate that — where school prayer is banned but pornography and drag shows are absolutely allowed,” Jordan said. “You can’t teach the Bible but you can teach children that men get pregnant and that kindergartners are allowed to pick their gender”
“While this administration might think that the district knows what’s best for our children, I can tell you they don’t. But you know who knows what’s best for our children? The Parents,” he said.
“Can somebody please explain to me how this district is able to push pornographic books such as Gender Queer — which I’ve provided pictures for — and indoctrinate our children into a particular lifestyle while they are still discovering life and who they are, and how this is acceptable by this administration?” Jordan asked.
Jordan continued until he was interrupted by the board chair, who said “I appreciate — I appreciate your time Scott. That’s three minutes.”
“I’m not leaving until one of two things occurs: you either call the police, or you tell me the next steps on what you’re doing. This community is — we’re tired of it — what are you doing tonight to remove these books from our libraries?” Jordan said after being cut off.
“This is the public comment section of the agenda, we open up –” Candura said, before Robert (Bob) Vail, Cumberland Councilor At-Large and the person who spoke prior to Jordan, told Jordan from the audience that asking the board to respond in session was out of order.
“I do not acknowledge Bob Vail, he is not a board member,” Jordan said.
“Scott, I will take a look at the materials that you’ve passed out, and those books that you have given the information to the board, and find out more information,” said Jeff Porter, Superintendent of MSAD #51.
“Jeff, that’s not acceptable. I’ve done that with you already. Nothing has happened, those books have been in our library –” Scott responded.
“Well I’d like to at least give you a response, Scott, on the specific information you provided,” Superintendent Porter said.
“That’s not acceptable Jeff, that has been up in our middle school, those black and white photos, have been up in our middle school for our fourth and fifth graders to see. They should not be knowing about sexual orientation and gender identity, that should be left up to the parents,” Jordan said.
“I’m not leaving this podium tonight until you either provide me with next steps that are acceptable, or the police [are] called. I’ve had it, and so have many other folks in this community,” he added.
Chair Candura then suggested that the board adjourn their meeting for the evening:
CANDURA: This is the meeting which we are, to do our public business, we have some really important things on the agenda tonight.
JORDAN: And our kids are not? This is far more important than a new school.
CANDURA: Would anyone like to motion to adjourn tonight’s meeting?
A brief debate between Jordan and the board members followed Candura’s suggestion that the board adjourn.
“Has anybody on this board looked at Gender Queer one time?” Jordan asked the board.
“I have,” a board member responded.
“And you’re okay with oral sex, you’re okay with anal sex?” Jordan asked.
“It’s your interpretation of it,” the board member said.
“No, it’s not just mine,” Jordan responded.
This back-and-forth was followed by a motion to adjourn and a second, at which point the board voted to adjourn the meeting.
Despite Jordan agreeing to sit down and let others speak, the board adjourned.
“So that’s what the board is going to do? They’re going to run away, because somebody’s pushing back?” Jordan said.
According to Scott Jordan, following the adjournment of Monday night’s meeting, parents were outside discussing the meeting with Superintendent Jeff Porter.
While Jordan was talking to Porter, Board Vice Chair Kim Vine pulled up in her car next to the superintendent, and asked him if he needed a ride and if he was okay, Jordan said in a phone interview Monday.
Jeff Porter told Vine that everything was fine, and continued his conversation with the parents, according to Jordan.
Jordan said following Kim Vine’s departure, three police cruisers pulled into the parking lot minutes after each other.
When speaking with the third responding officer, Jordan said that the officer mistook him for conservative activist Shawn McBreairty, and asked Jordan if “They were going to have a problem like last year.”
[RELATED: Orono Democrat Compares Maine Republicans to Nazis for Wanting Porn Books Out of Schools]
Jordan said that the officer became angry with him, and told Jordan that he “didn’t want to be dragged into [his] political issues.”
The Cumberland Police have not yet responded to a public records request related to Monday night’s incident as of the time of this article being published.
Chair of MSAD #51 Leanne Candura issued this statement to the Maine Wire Tuesday:
The meeting was not adjourned due to the content of the speaker’s comments. Every speaker has the opportunity to address the Board as long as they are following meeting procedures. The meeting was adjourned due to the speaker in question refusing to follow these meeting procedures, despite being prompted to do so. The speaker refused to leave the podium and allow other members of the public to speak after his speaking time was over. Given that the situation had created an impasse and that the meeting was unable to proceed properly, it was in the best interest of those in attendance to adjourn the meeting at that time. As for your question about the police being called, I would refer this to the Cumberland Police if further information is needed.
Although Candura claims Scott Jordan refused to leave the podium, in the video of Monday night’s board meeting, Jordan can be heard saying that he will sit down and let others speak.
Superintendent Jeff Porter responded to a request for comment by deferring to Candura’s statement.
I attended the meeting. First of all, there was no Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the meeting, but that omission doesn’t surprise me anymore. This article summarizes what happened pretty well so there is no need to belabor those details.
I do believe that these folks on the board, who function primarily inside their own safe-space bubbles, are unable to handle even the slightest bit of adversity as demonstrated by their quick adjournment of the meeting.. God forbid if they ever had to do something courageous such as storm the beaches of Normandy. We’d lose.
Secondly, their “diversity, equity and inclusion” narrative is totally phony. They have absolutely no tolerance for anyone who disagrees with their agenda particularly those raised with traditional Judeo-Christian values which, to them, have to be discarded so they, in all their infinite wisdom, can “Build Back Better”. Anyone can see that the books are pornographic, are designed to promote the LGBTW(Whatever) lifestyle which, in turn, destroys the nuclear family. Purely a Marxist tactic.
Sadly, instead of being the real adults in the room by demonstrating true leadership, they double down. Our kids have become pawns in their twisted visions of social Justice rather than being able to think critically or being prepared for real world careers. Shameful! It’s high time for conservatives to take back all of our institutions, particularly the critically important institution of education, from these misguided ideologues.
I am going to state a fact from my observations over the years living in Maine. Any town south of Augusta from the coast to the NH border is for all intensive purposes lost to the Democommunists. All you have to do is look at the voting records of the elections from roughly 1990 forward. Theses towns have moved to the left/communist gradually, but with a concerted effort. This goes along with the influx of people from MA, NY, CT and NJ, these imports did not come to embrace Maine life, but to mold it to their way of life from where they were.
Here in Bangor area same thing. Parents shut out while the machine grinds on our kids.They have no respect for the parents as their jobs, actions, and pensions are protected by the jackboot of the state. They won’t even acknowledge the damage done to kids just with the mandated masking. 1 in 5 kids are 2-3 years behind in their speech development for starters. Over in Hermon they fought back after the local teachers union rep told them that if they didn’t like it they could move. The parents ran for school board and won and took back control of their schools.
Here in Bangor area same thing. Parents shut out while the machine grinds on our kids.They have no respect for the parents as their jobs, actions, and pensions are protected by the jackboot of the state. They won’t even acknowledge the damage done to kids just with the mandated masking. 1 in 5 kids are 2-3 years behind in their speech development for starters. Over in Hermon they pushed back after the local teachers union rep told them that if they didn’t like it they could move. The parents ran for school board and won and took back control of their schools.
These board members need to remember they are there because they are voted in by the peopl in the towns that they live in. They have a duty to support what the overall citizens on their community want. They can be removed if they are voted in and not doing that and replaced by people who will. Get after your officials in town and remove them. These schools think they have the ability to surpass what the parents want. It’s a total overreach. Private schools and home schooling look better every day!
Thank you, Maine Wire, for another fine article concerning the offensive books now found in school libraries throughout Maine. There is a website called BookLooks (still active at this time) which lists hundreds of offensive books in this new “young adult” genre. This resource is worth exploring. Recently I compared the BookLooks list with books in a local Hancock County middle school/high school library and even skipping the lesser offensive books found 95 titles matching the school library’s collection. Using BookLooks I was able to discover that these 95 books contained 5,550 offensive (profane) words. When I brought this issue to the attention of the school board in May, to my knowledge nothing became of it other than a letter in the local newspaper by the school board chairman which completely ignored the list. The local superintendent says the books can’t be removed because the school’s lawyers advise that there would be lawsuits against the school if any of these books were to be removed.
Anybody who doubts what I say here can use BookLooks and compare their own school’s library collection as I did. Please do that. The results are indeed shocking. Take your findings to your school officials and be prepared for another shocker. The schools just plain don’t care what you think.
Funny, none of these citizens are ever concerned about modelling gender and sexual orientation of heterosexuals. If books acknowledging gay people exist are bad, then so are books that push marriage and parenting on kindergarteners.
Maybe instead of banning the books that scare them, they should monitor their own children’s choices. Weird how these people hate ‘big government’ but yet want to use it to bludgeon everyone and everything they don’t like.
Also: ‘God’ is not banned from school, nor is prayer. Students can believe what they want and pray to their hearts’ content, they just can’t force their beliefs or practices on others. Simple. Alas, too simple for conspiracy-minded simpletons like Jordan.
5GW
I attended that meeting and as a former school board member in our district, I was amazed at how the chairwoman was unable and unwilling to manage the situation. Stand up for righteousness and see where it takes you. The majority of the attendees were people who supported Mr. Jordan’s stand on pornography in the schools. There is no place for smut in our schools. Why is it the Commissioner of Education, when asked, didn’t have time to do standardized tests this year – too busy pushing other agendas. All the proposed laws by Maine legislators supporting parental choice, etc were shot down by the Dems in this last session. Our children are the ones who will suffer. In our district, we voted NO on the school budget to get the attention of the Superintendent and school committee. Read the article by Leonard Leo about the cost of sending a child to Portland schools – it’s HIGHER than a year at the University of Maine!
Parents, if your child’s school doesn’t listen, take your children out of that school! If enough parents took their children out of state run schools and we continue to ask for vouchers (allowing parents to use the tax dollars as they see fit)then, as with businesses, schools would have to step up and listen or close.
A Note to Parents:
To turn the Maine education system around, boycott it! Instead of proliferating the left’s Marxist agenda, pull your children from it and stop supporting the corruption! Form a homeschool educational co-op, in which parents teach small groups of children American conservative values, excell in reading wholesome literature, become math literate, and above the fray thinkers and speakers who learn to be mature adults.
When teachers have no students to teach, due to lack of attendance, they’re out of jobs; education boards have no one to rule over, they’re out of jobs; and all that hard earned taxpayer money stays in your pocket to educate YOUR children the way they deserve to be properly educated! Massive boycotting WILL make these people wake up to start serving, We the People, again!
This is promoting porn….and how any board member can justify this books is criminal
https://sanzi.substack.com/p/the-book-includes-sexually-explicit?fbclid=IwAR31DKLCEb3NzgL_tsfiPWzUhgKCxLpFDiQwPzYOSLlZoUmaOvM-hPwqHMc
The speaker seems very reasonable. The Chair was completely unresponsive.
This is the same school system that asked their School Resource Officer to take down the thin blue line American flag hanging in his office because it “offended” people.
The animals are running the zoo.
Dear Maine Wire, the fact that you don’t know how (or are unwilling) to tell or agknowledge the difference between explicit material and pornography tells any reasonable literate adult that you are not a true news source, but rather, a biased publication created to fan the flames of the reinvigorated White Nationalist movement brought to the fore by our biggest national discrace… The now thrice-indicted Donald Trump. Shameful.
Can anyone please help me understand how individuals can actually defend having this in our libraries?
https://www.ibtimes.sg/texas-school-sparks-outrage-after-mom-finds-gender-queer-book-sexually-explicit-cartoons-library-60974#slideshow/52824
Dearest Chuck-
Hey fact checker. The difference, as though it matters in regards to illustrated books targeting children as young as 5 years old, is obvious to those without an agenda to uphold and defend.
Explicit material has graphic illustrations and description of things that is generally considered inappropriate for all ages. Rated R movies, TV-MA, mature ratings for video games, explicit lyrics warnings on music labels. Its why parental consent is required for your child to attend the sex ed class. There are depictions of genitals, and the coverage of intercourse, safety, menstruation, and so on.
Pornography is the material that involves a storyline where someone describes with vivid details sexual acts, including foreplay, dialogue, and bonus for creativity. Describing the best practices for oral sex, tasting semen, anal sex tips, strap ons, fantasies during masturbating, in some cases involving incest, rape and torture(bdsm).
The things in these books are equivalent to giving children free access to the internet and searching ‘porn’. Its difficult to defend showing that material to children without being considered a pedophile, which is why women are utilized at the public front promoting it. The pushback from parents is why the approach is switching to “oppression”,”affirmation”, “right-wing”, “ultra conservative”, “nazi”, etcetera. The White supremacy is no longer valid as we watched muslim families protesting from Minnesota,USA to Manchester,UK. So unless Arab/African muslims are now categorized as White Supremacists, you fall flat. It’s a hill you dont want to be on, but we’re a bit late in the game for you people to skulk back into the shadows. Leave kids alone, stop trying to have sex with them, and being so blatant in the manipulation and subversion game you play. The parents are asking as civil and controlled as an adult can be when protecting their children from predators. As we can see across the world you people aren’t listening or feel safe enough to ignore it. Lawfare attempting to usurpe parental rights also validates everyones argument concerning indoctrination and subversive goals of tyrants. Oh, and ma$$ive profit for: Doctors, psychologists, big pharma, law firms, corporate welfare, DEI, political operatives, and global adversaries.
Looks like The Maine Wire has a troll in Chuck U. who probably has a room in his two mom’s basement and watches porn all day long. “Reasonable literate adult”? You probably also favor full term abortions and support gender reassignment surgery. By the way, the House Oversight Committee is having a hearing today on the corrupt Biden Mafia. Leftists such as yourself are such losers!
Exposing this is the most effective way of ending this. The left is consumed and addicted to virtue signaling for the approval of society. There is nothing more virtuous than protecting the innocence of a child. Educate them, shame pedophiles like Chuck, change the culture.
Showing pornography to a minor is a crime. If the local police are unwilling to uphold the law; have them removed.
The School Board chair was correct in that a business meeting of the board is to discuss the items on the Agenda. Open comments may be a future item on the Agenda.
I kind of want to know the proof of pushing any books that are available and if heterosexual books should also be removed from the library as well as health class. It would be very simple to ask the librarian’s to not let YOUR children have these books knowing that they can get them or have access to them other places.
The schools do not have time to push any sexual activities but they have an obligation to help students if asked. The majority include parents unless they feel the student is in danger. I am sure they would forward those students to experts.
I would like to see more parents volunteer in the school, do field trips and help out a school. They would see for themselves.
It is difficult to get good people to run for any office and these type of attacks aren’t helping. Most get training after their elected and their intentions are to do the most for the children they serve.
Again I ask the parent claimed thei were many who felt that way but compared to those who don’t feel that way, who would have the majority? How about doing what is best for all and really understand what truly happens in the schools.
Joyce-
What is a “heterosexual book”? Are we talking Jack London, Romeo and Juliet, any book that doesn’t contain DEI sanctioned characters and themes? I see most of your post is from the handbook of excuses and blatant misinformation. We see you covering for the council shutting down parents. You give us “what about…”, pretending the whole world hasnt watched you manipulate laws, change definitions, use children/students in activist marches and protests. Everyone can see. It cant just go away, or threatening parents with child protective agents taking revenge on behalf of “concerned” staff. “include parents unless they feel the student is in danger. ”
You brag about the fact that youre training as a freshman Psych major gifts you the ability to understand a child better than their own parents. How many stories out of every state has a guidance counselor or teacher who made the child keep secrets while this stranger explores their affirmation journey? Off-campus “clubs”, secret chatrooms, lies and coercion.
“The schools do not have time to push any sexual activities”.
Thats the #1 topic besides racism. Your people have no other platforms. Transgenderism, 57 pronouns,sexualized children, drag queens, and black people. The only thing biting you in the ass now are the illegals and Seekers. You know they hate the gay fetishists and drag queens, or watching you shield and promote pedos, so it gets awkward doesnt it?
Good Afternoon Joyce,
Unfortunately you are incorrect. When I was speaking and being reprimanded by the newly elected chair it was during the public comments section of the agenda.
Just an FYI – these individuals work for us the tax payers not the other way around.
Also to take your proverbial ball and go home during your first time encountering a disagreement should be extremely concerning.
The newly elected chair Leanne Candura should either resign as it is clear she is over her head.
HAVING PENTHOUSE TYPE PHOTOS AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT ACTS AND MOVES ARE NOT PROPER FOR THIS AGE GROUP.
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR DOING THIS TO CHILDREN.
SHAME ON THIS BOARD AND JEFF PORTER
Why not ask for a recall of those members of the school board who voted to adjourn the meeting? If they are intellectually unable to engage in conversation and problem solving with their constituents, they very likely are in the wrong position.
Mr Jordan questions of what are you going to do, might have more properly been asked what are we going to do? While banning books might not be the over arching solution, removing books from a tax payer funded program is worth consideration. They can find their audience at the local bookstore or via Amazon, but the community values in terms of parental rights should be the most important consideration. Not every book published is a worthwhile piece of literature (instructional or otherwise) and in this case there seems to be no adult in the room who is willing to speak that truth.