LaRocca steps up with added assurance for parents
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – A surprising turn of events only days after the Library Board voted down a resolution to provide extra supervision of all departments in the 12 public library branches may be the needed step to bring the nearly three-year controversy involving sexually explicit books to an end.
Even more surprising is that it was Library Director Kelly LaRocca who sent an e-mail to The Slidell Independent informing this publication she had directed all 12 branch managers to set up a schedule for employees to supervise all departments every hour. The directive was for employees “to look for unaccompanied minors” who may be improperly going into the newly-created Adult section where the books deemed to be “sexually explicit” were now being assigned.
The announcement by LaRocca came only days after the Library Board voted down a resolution that would have done the exact same thing, all proposed to ensure minors don’t access the sexually explicit materials without parental approval.
The decision by LaRocca seemed to be a clear step to gain the public confidence that minors were not improperly accessing the books, which became a huge controversy almost three years ago when dozens of the books were found in various departments of the public library branches.
Ironically, it was only two days before the e-mail was sent to The Independent that new Library Board Member Chuck Branton proposed a resolution at the February board meeting seeking essentially the same thing that LaRocca later stated she was putting in place. Branton’s measure was defeated in a 4-3 vote, including Parish President Mike Cooper casting a deciding vote against the extra supervision to protect minors.
LaRocca said she had actually started the supervision last Thanksgiving, telling her branch managers to “be more deliberate about monitoring between the hours of 2 and 6.” But then she increased the monitoring on Feb.10 to include all hours of the day. LaRocca told the Library Board at its Feb. 24 meeting that she was providing supervision Branton’s policy sought to make official library policy, however, Cooper and three other board members still voted against it.
The move by LaRocca seems especially important for the St. Tammany library system as it faces a critical vote on March 29 when the public will be asked to renew the millage that provides approximately 96 percent of the library funding to operate.
After the board voted against Branton’s supervision resolution, there was an explosion of negative commentary against the library system, with many online posts, e-mails and texts urging the public to vote against the millage, including the Republican Party of West St. Tammany issuing a press release against the millage being renewed.
Branton admitted it was surprising to see LaRocca come out with what he called “essentially the same resolution I was trying to pass to have more supervision in the library branches.”
But Branton, who has already been campaigning hard for public support to get the millage passed, said that regardless of the timing with LaRocca’s policy announcement, he was happy to see it.
“I’m glad to see she is taking action to add supervision. I’m pleased to see what she did,” he added. “And as for providing more reasons for the public to support the millage, I am hopeful this satisfies their concerns.”
Parish Councilman David Cougle, who has been at the forefront of the fight to restrict the sexually explicit books ever since the situation erupted in June of 2022, said he still has doubts about how much the move will pacify voters who will decide on the millage.
“I do not think many in the public will be satisfied until there are proper measures enacted that protect children from sexually explicit materials and empower parents to be fully informed regarding materials in the library,” he remarked.
Cougle said the actions from the board on Feb. 24, when they voted down Branton’s resolution, sent a clear message to the public.
“As we saw with the LBOC meeting last week, the majority of the board is coming across to many as not particularly interested in addressing the concerns that have been raised, but instead pacifying those shouting loudest,” he added.
And Cougle believes the loudest voices, particularly with Social Media posts, have been a liberal organization that has fought from the beginning to keep the books accessible to minors, and have been treated as if they speak for the majority of conservative St. Tammany Parish.
“The loud interest groups, such as the one that has repeatedly targeted conservative board members, attacked people’s religious views, etc., is not representative of the community as a whole. That is going to be particularly relevant when voters go to the polls later this month,” he said.
While Branton was happy to see LaRocca make an announcement of something he believes the public needed to see before the March 29 millage vote, he said the Library Board still needs to pass a resolution to back the move.
“What Kelly did was a procedure and it can be changed at the drop of a hat,” he said. “But if the board passes it into a policy, then the public knows what the policies at the library branches are and will know they have to be followed.”
Parish Council Chairman Joe Impastato, another strong supporter of the library millage, did see LaRocca’s announcement as something he hopes will bolster the chances of the millage passing.
“I think this is another great initiative by our library and should alleviate any concerns that we as parents have,” he stated. “We are listening and taking action, so I hope the public supports our kids by supporting our library.”
LaRocca said her initial decision last November to provide extra supervision at all branches came at the suggestion of Library Board Member Tamarah Myers, who worked for 25 years in the school system and was familiar with hall monitors or playground monitors who provided extra supervision.
LaRocca said she had all branch managers submit a daily schedule of employees, noting who was assigned each hour to supervise the different sections of the libraries.
Cougle e-mailed all library board members after hearing of LaRocca’s news and said he was “confused” as to why they voted down the measure, only to learn that LaRocca had essentially instituted most of it.
Library Board Chairman Ann Shaw was the only one to respond to Cougle and said she voted against Branton’s resolution because of a section that required “checking permission,” meaning employees had to ask for a driver’s license or library card proving a minor was allowed in the Adult section. She said employees working the floor couldn’t do that around the shelving areas and would only be able to do that at the main desk.
Branton said that as of this week he had no plans to bring his resolution back for the final board meeting on March 24 before the millage vote five days later. But he did acknowledge he may bring it back at some point in the future since he believes it is necessary to codify the directive from LaRocca, making it a library policy.