Oregon School District
Votes to Keep Harry Potter
The Bend–La Pine (Ore.) school board ruled February 22 that J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books will remain available to students and teachers for unrestricted use. The board’s decision followed an earlier recommendation from a review committee appointed by Interim Superintendent Gary Bruner that the books be kept in the library.
In January, after one was read aloud in their son’s 4th-grade class, Bend parents Greg and Arlena Wilson filed a request with the district to ban the series. According to the February 16 Portland Oregonian, the Wilsons cited the books’ magical themes and their tendency to foment “hatred and rebellion” among young people.
Five of the board’s seven members were present at the meeting, and those attending voted unanimously to retain the works. Library Media Specialist Mary Beth Pearl told American Libraries that approximately 10 citizens spoke on either side of the issue. Several of those against the committee’s recommendations identified themselves, like the Wilsons, as born-again Christians who felt the issue was one in which fundamental morality was threatened.
Posted February 28, 2000.
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