ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va, (ROCKTOWN NOW) — The Rockingham County School Board voted to return six more books to school library shelves after they were temporarily pulled earlier this year over concerns about possible sexually explicit content.

Superintendent Larry Shifflett recommended retaining “Drama,” by Raina Telgemeier, the first four books in the “Heartstopper” series, by Alice Oseman, and “All American Boys,” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Killy. According to Shifflett, the Content Review Committee found that the books contained no sexually explicit material.

The School Board voted to retain the books in a 4-1 vote, with board member Hollie Cave casting the sole dissenting vote. Cave said she agreed with the committee’s verdict on the books, after reading them herself, but still took issue with “Drama” as she felt the themes in the young adult graphic novel were too mature for elementary schoolers.

“I’m just trying to think about what kind of content is too heavy for a fifth grader, and I don’t know if we have any guarantee that a fourth grader or a third grader couldn’t get their hands on that book,” Cave said.

She asked Shifflett if the committee had considered moving “Drama” from the county’s elementary school libraries to the middle school libraries. He said that while they had conversations about the developmentally appropriate nature of some of the books, they were advised by the School Board’s new attorney, Daniel Rose, to adhere to the recently passed policy to only screen for sexually explicit content and address other concerns through material challenge process established in the accompanying materials policy passed by the board in April.

“Although we’ve had some conversations about some of the content of the books, it always comes back to the question: ‘is any of the material sexually explicit in nature?’ Shifflett said. “And if it isn’t, then their recommendation, and I would concur, is that it would be returned.”

Before the board took their vote, Cave clarified that her concern was only with “Drama,” and none of the other books, and that her vote against retaining the book was also on behalf of the residents living in her district.

“I really feel like in my heart to represent my community and my district, and – they would agree with me – I think the majority would want to move that book to the middle school, and that’s not part of the motion,” Cave said.

During the School Board members’ comments and question portion toward the end of the meeting, Cave said that she still advocates for a system in which parents are notified every time their child checks out a book from the school library. She also encouraged parents to take an active role in students’ education beyond what the board is able to accomplish at the policy level.

“I just want to encourage parents to not consider policy to be 100 percent fail safe, and to bring an awareness that you need to be involved and not trust policy to do what needs to be done for your child,” Cave said.

As Shifflett explained at the last School Board meeting earlier this month, he expects that committee’s recommendations for books will be a frequent item on the board’s agenda for the foreseeable future.