Book Battle in Sumner County

 A pair of stories from NewsBreak detail a battle between the Sumner County Commission and Sumner County School Board over books:

The County Commission last week passed a resolution raising objections to two books:

The resolution specifically mentions the books A Place Inside of Me by Zetta Elliott and Dragonwings by Laurence Yep.

The resolution states "text found in the books has examples of racism, underage drinking, foul language, violence, drugs, prostitution, alcohol, hatred of police, overthrow of the government, destruction of the nuclear family, and communism."

Meanwhile the Sumner County School Board held a hearing and retained "A Place Inside of Me."

The Sumner County School Board last night voted in favor of keeping "A Place Inside of Me" on the bookshelves in the school system's library. The move comes following a complaint that the book violates a new state law around objectionable content. Seven members (out of 11) voted in favor of keeping the book.

The vote on the library book - an award-winning illustrated book by Zetta Elliott - took place after a public hearing featuring speakers both for and against the text.

READ MORE local news at NewsBreak 

 

 

Library Dispute Continues

A long-running dispute over who "owns" the Hendersonville Library (The County Commission/Sumner County) or the City of Hendersonville (which holds the deed) continued recently with a meeting of members of both governing bodies. 

The dispute goes back to a state audit finding noting that the County has been claiming the Library as an asset on its books despite not having a deed to the library.  In fact, though the County issued a bond to pay for a portion of the library and then passed a resolution saying it should get the deed to the library from Hendersonville, no written agreement was ever established between the two parties.  That is, NO ONE from the County carried out negotiations to get a formal written document from Hendersonville BEFORE passing a resolution and bond that obligated taxpayers to pay for a building which the County didn't own.  No one, apparently, sought to rectify the matter in the years that have passed since, either. 

Back in January, when this controversy was in its infancy, it appeared that Kirk Moser and Merrol Hyde believed the whole issue could be solved with a sign giving the County credit for its role in establishing the library. 

So, let's review: The County issued a bond for a building it didn't own and had no claim to before securing a commitment from Hendersonville officials to deed the building to the County.  The bond was issued and the County listed a facility on its books it didn't own and no one checked to see if an actual deed existed, they just referred to a resolution passed by the Commission. 

Now, the City has made an offer of a joint deed arrangement.  Will the County accept? Or will they keep fighting?

Library Controversy Gets a Committee

The controversy over who owns (and who wants to own) the Hendersonville Library now has a County Commission Committee.

The issue now seems to be that neither body actually wants the Library.  The County has not properly funded the library, and the City handles maintenance costs.  The City seems unwilling to fund much more than the $50,000 they now contribute.  And so, who will get the library?  It's worth noting that private and City funds paid for much of the construction of the library.  And the property has never been deeded to the County, so it would seem to be fairly easy for the County to just leave it to the City. 

Absent a tax increase at the City level, however, it seems unlikely that the City could operate the Library at its current paltry state of operating hours. 

Of course, the County could leave the situation as it is and continue to contribute funds to the Hendersonville Library in order to ensure that every city in the county has an operating Library.

Stay tuned as Library Battle 2013 heats up this summer.