Current:Home > InvestGovernor appoints ex-school board member recalled over book ban push to Nebraska’s library board -WealthTrack
Governor appoints ex-school board member recalled over book ban push to Nebraska’s library board
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:45:48
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed a new member to the Nebraska Library Commission — a former local school board member removed from office after trying to ban more than 50 books.
Terri Cunningham-Swanson will serve on the board responsible for promoting, developing and coordinating library services in Nebraska, the Lincoln Journal Star reported Friday. The three-year term ends in June 2027, according to the commission’s website. Cunningham-Swanson will be among six members on the commission.
A message seeking comment from Pillen’s office wasn’t immediately returned.
Cunningham-Swanson was elected to the Plattsmouth Community Board of Education in 2023 and immediately sought to ban 52 books from the school library. The listed included novels such as “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” and books by Colleen Hoover and Ellen Hopkins. Many of the books on the list involved themes of addiction, race, sexuality and other topics that have recently created debates over book bans.
High school students in Plattsmouth walked out in protest and the high school librarian resigned in response to the ban effort. The Plattsmouth school board convened a committee to review the books and ultimately removed one — “Triangles,” by Ellen Hopkins. Others were placed in a restricted section.
After one failed effort, voters in the district collected enough signatures last November for a ballot question of whether to recall Cunningham-Swanson. In January, 62% of voters voted to recall her.
“My goal has always been to do right by our students, our district and our community,” Cunningham-Swanson wrote to the Journal Star in an email at the time. “I can step away knowing that I have honored my commitment and honored God while doing so.”
Pillen’s appointment of Cunningham-Swanson angered some of those involved in the recall effort.
“Our community rejected Cunningham-Swanson’s extremism by an overwhelming margin in January,” Jayden Speed, who led the recall effort, posted on the social platform X. “Book bans have no place in Nebraska! We will continue the fight to keep it that way.”
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Banned New Zealand Olympic runner arrested in Kenya over sexual assault and weapon allegations
- Suspect suffers life-threatening injuries in ‘gunfight’ with Missouri officers
- Project Veritas, founded by James O'Keefe, is laying off workers and pausing fundraising
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Supermodel Christy Turlington's Daughter Grace Makes Her Milan Fashion Week Debut
- The Roman Empire is all over TikTok: Are the ways men and women think really that different?
- Prada explores lightness with translucent chiffon for summer 2024
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Indiana Republican state senator Jack Sandlin, a former police officer, dies at age 72
Ranking
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Indiana Republican state senator Jack Sandlin, a former police officer, dies at age 72
- Former fashion mogul pleads not guilty in Canadian sex-assault trial
- Caviar and Pringles? Not as strange as you think. New combo kits priced as high as $140.
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- How Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Will Honor Late Judge Len Goodman
- U.N. warns Libya could face second devastating crisis if disease spreads in decimated Derna
- Zayn Malik Shares What Makes Daughter Khai Beautiful With Rare Photos on 3rd Birthday
Recommendation
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
Lizzo and others sued by another employee alleging harassment, illegal termination
Trump says he always had autoworkers’ backs. Union leaders say his first-term record shows otherwise
EU calls on Bosnian Serb parliament to reject draft law that brands NGOs as ‘foreign agents’
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
Pakistan will hold parliamentary elections at the end of January, delaying a vote due in November
UAW strike puts spotlight on pay gap between CEOs and workers
Mississippi auditor says several college majors indoctrinate students and should be defunded