Browsing Tag: special board meeting

It was another big week for the Cameron R-1 School District, but not in a good way. During a 4-hour appeal hearing for a Cameron Veterans Middle School teacher who claims she is being wrongfully terminated, we heard a lot of testimony. One of those who testified was of particular interest to us, mother and Cameron High School librarian Tonya O’Boyle. She was rightfully concerned that her son was exposed to sexually explicit and vulgar language while on the high school football team. Watch the video, and then let’s discuss why this is of interest. Content warning, there is graphic descriptive language in this video.

Allegations Made by O’Boyle

Mrs. O’Boyle claims that during an “extra-curricular activity” at school events, she has personally witnessed the use of foul language on school grounds. She says she has been to events where vulgar music was played as part of those school events. Mrs. O’Boyle stated that the vulgar language she overheard was “student choice” and included the “N-word.” Her stated concern for the choice in that music was: “Promoted as a family event. There were toddlers there. There were grandparents there.”

When asked if there were other school-sponsored events where she witnessed foul language being used ,she responded, “Yes.” She confirmed it happened during this current semester. She heard the coach, another school district employee, use those foul words which were directed at her child. When asked what was said, she responded, “You are the fucking reason we are losing this fucking game.”

Why This Testimony is of Interest

This website was started in part because of our fight with the Cameron R-1 School District relating to the extensive collection of vulgar and explicit books found in Mrs. O’Boyle’s high school library.  You can find a partial list of those books on our Dirty Book List page.

During O’Boyle’s time as the librarian at the high school, a vast majority of those books were added to her library.  According to district policy and public records requests, she added the majority of those books.  Just two of the books on that list, The Hate U Give and Juliet Takes a Breath include the F-word 198 times.  The book Juliet Takes a Breath is one you can see her receiving in an unboxing video she posted to her personal social media account.  It uses that word she didn’t like 100 times.

The Books Get Far Worse Than Just Using Profanity

Many of those books on the Dirty Book List for the Cameron High School include graphic, sexually explicit descriptions. If Mrs. O’Boyle takes issue with her child hearing two vulgar words at football practice and functions, surely she would also be opposed to graphic descriptions of incest and pedophilia. The book Identical, found in her library, includes both pedophilia and incest. Passages from that book were read to the Cameron R-1 School District’s Board of Education at a previous board meeting. Extreme content warning in that video, but HERE is the link.

Why are the Words Wrong but Books Acceptable?

That’s the million dollar question.  If vulgar words used in the presence of high school children are immoral and socially taboo, why then are all of these graphic books available for the same high school kids to read?  Mrs. O’Boyle, please explain it for me.  Why are you willing to hand my children and my neighbors’ children that book which uses the word you don’t like 100 times?  You wrote an essay to get that book donated to the school.  Now that your child has been exposed to such language, have you changed your opinion on the books in your library?  Help me, help all of us, to understand the hypocrisy between your anger at your child being exposed to these words while you hand our children books with far more graphic content.

An Open Letter to the Cameron School Board

On Thursday night, we heard multiple accounts from mothers, a father, and school teachers about how upset they were about the language used by your staff member in his capacity as football coach. They are right – it was wrong and is a violation of policy. Why, then, do you fire one staff member for using inappropriate language while you protect the other? If it is wrong for a staff member to use a single vulgar word around students, especially when that language is directed at a student, how is it acceptable to put books in that same child’s hand that have dozens or hundreds of those profane words? And if a single profane word is not acceptable, how on earth are graphic descriptions of pedophilia and incest acceptable? Let me say the thing you don’t have the courage to say. It isn’t acceptable.

Final Closing Thoughts About Thursday’s Hearing

The district has a serious transparency and accountability issue. This book topic is one of the many glaring, self-imposed black eyes the Cameron School District received on Thursday night. There are serious problems at the district and in the leadership at the central office. There needs to be a full investigation revolving around the accusations made that night. Someone also needs to look into why your administrators couldn’t answer the questions from the respondent’s lawyers. “I do not know” is not an acceptable answer to those questions from top-tier administrators.