Board votes ‘no’ on better supervision
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
MANDEVILLE – With a critical millage renewal that funds parish libraries only one month away, the St. Tammany Library Board of Control had a golden opportunity at its regular meeting on Monday night to prove to parish residents that they are doing their best to protect kids from having easier access to sexually explicit books.
Most observers of the long-running library controversy, now heading for three years long, believe parish voters needed to see the Library Board is trying to protect kids from the controversial materials, a move that would go a long way towards helping the millage get renewed on March 29.
The millage provides approximately 97 percent of funding to operate the 12 public library branches and if it fails the system would likely be closing in little more than a year.
But for reasons still hard to explain, aided by a key vote from Parish President Mike Cooper, the board voted 4-3 against a resolution that would have provided extra supervision for the Adult section where the sexually explicit books are shelved.
Cooper was quoted by The Slidell Independent over a year ago stating clearly that he supported restrictions for minors to not have easy access to the sexually explicit books, if parents didn’t approve. Since he has been serving on the Library Board in a seat the parish president normally appoints a Parish Council member to, Cooper was seen as someone who could have shown the leadership to support the resolution for more supervision of the books.
The resolution was sponsored by new Board Member Chuck Branton and called for “staff to provide appropriate supervision of areas where sexually explicit materials are housed or stored so as to insure, to the best of their ability, that only individuals who possess appropriate permissions to access these materials may do so.”
Voting for the resolution was Branton, Jill Kesler and Tamarah Myers, while Cooper was joined by new Board Member Dinah Thanars, Pam Georges and Ann Shaw voting against the extra supervision.
The meeting lasted over four-and-a-half hours due to the same extensive public commentary on the matter for several resolutions Branton proposed, most with the intent of providing greater protection for kids’ ability to access the materials without parental approval.
“As a community here in St. Tammany Parish I am certain that most people do not want their kids accessing this material if the parents don’t allow it,” said Branton. “Considering that, I was very surprised by the lack of support from the board, especially since no one is trying to ban books.”
As for the effect it could have on the millage passing in a month, Branton said, “this will certainly not be helpful. It was such a negative tone at the meeting and even though I know we have extremes on both sides of this issue, most people in this parish do not want kids to access these materials.
“I just wonder why on earth would this board not take steps to show the public we won’t let kids see this stuff?” he added.
As for an explanation of the vote, there was hardly a word throughout the night from most board members regarding the resolution. Most simply listened for hours to the same remarks from conservatives and liberals that have been heard since the controversy started in June 2022, then the vote was taken and went down in the 4-3 final tally.
Parish Councilman David Cougle, who has been at the forefront of the fight to restrict the sexually explicit materials ever since it started, was stunned that the Library Board couldn’t even pass a resolution that would require library employees to have a closer watch on the Adult section. The newly-created Adult section is still accessible to minors, even though library rules state minors cannot go there without proper approval from parents.
“Last night’s marathon board meeting can best be described as a 4.5-hour infomercial against renewing the library millage,” Cougle wrote in a letter to Library Board members. “I’m not sure you understand how out of touch the majority of you came across to the rest of the parish.
“St. Tammany residents have expressed outrage and unhappiness at the way our library is being run for nearly three years now, but last night’s LBOC meeting did little more than demonstrate an arrogant contempt for their concerns. I literally had St. Tammany residents texting me during the meeting saying how they wanted to kill the library millage,” he added.
Branton was one of two new members to the board after the Parish Council voted less than a month ago for he and Thanars to fill two vacant seats. Thanars stated in her remarks before the appointment, “I do believe there should be some limitations for younger kids,” in terms of what books they can access, however, she did not return a phone call to The Slidell Independent to answer questions of why she voted against the supervisory resolution.
Branton was intensely and frequently criticized by public comments at the Monday meeting for his conservative stance and new leadership on the board. However, even after LBOC legal counsel Emily Couvillion started the meeting by reading the laws about “no public criticism” during public comments, Board Chairman Ann Shaw never halted any of the remarks aimed at Branton.
Cougle addressed that in his letter to the board, singling Shaw out for her inaction.
“Ms. Shaw, I and at least one other council member were extremely disappointed that you continued to allow the same speakers to veer off topic and personally attack Mr. Branton—you seemed to have a different set of rules for those perceived to be on the right, than those perceived to be on the left of issues,” he said.
Branton, despite the heavy criticism he is now under, has championed the libraries and his desire to see the millage passed, speaking publicly more vocally than any other board member. In a story last week he detailed over a dozen programs or services the libraries have, all of which could disappear if the millage fails.
“I want this millage to pass. Our libraries offer so many services to the public, but after the results of this meeting, I believe the libraries are in a bad spot in terms of the upcoming millage vote,” he said.
Another odd occurrence at the meeting was Parish Councilman Jeff Corbin, who sat in the audience, and found himself arguing with Branton at different times—public outbursts that are also supposed to be against the public comment rules.
Cougle summed up the meeting by stating, “the majority of the board gave a loud and clear signal to the parish that they are more interested in catering to extremist left-wing groups than the vast majority of St. Tammany taxpayers.
“As the director of the Red River Parish said, people are simply not going to continue to fund things that do not represent them. For those council members and others who want the millage to be renewed, last night made their task exponentially more difficult,” he added.