Hoover parents voice concerns over explicit books, background checks for aides

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Some parents in Hoover schools on Tuesday night took concerns about sexually graphic books and background checks for outsourced aides coming into schools to the Hoover Board of Education.

Parent Jon Kerr told the school board that dozens of complaints have been sent to Hoover school administrators about the aides being sent to Hoover schools by Kelly Educational Staffing.

Some children are feeling uncomfortable with the aides, and parents want to know if proper background checks are being done, Kerr said. At least nine employees of Hoover schools have contacted his wife with concerns about the contracted aides, asking her to investigate issues because they aren’t allowed to bring it up, he said.

In one case, an aide from Kelly Instructional Services showed up at Trace Crossings Elementary School, and when a school employee ran a background check, the employee found out the aide was a convicted sex offender, he said.

“These are aides going back to our special needs children. That’s why we’re concerned,” Kerr said. “It’s embarrassing for you to put those kinds of people in front of our most vulnerable students.”

Kerr said in many cases, outsourced aides from Kelly Educational Staffing haven’t been required to even present ID when they show up. He and other parents want to know what the school system is doing to make sure the company sending aides to work with Hoover children are having proper background checks done, and school officials are not responding, he said.

“We’ve had dozens of unreturned phone calls, unanswered correspondence to all the board members, to [Superintendent] Dr. [Kevin] Maddox, to the new head of hiring,” Kerr said.

During Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Maddox had Chris Zuber, senior director of client services for Kelly Educational Staffing, make a presentation to the school board about what his company does.

Zuber said his company has been working with Hoover City Schools for three years and works with 15 other school districts in Alabama and a total of 1,100 school districts in 42 states, providing support staff via contract. Hoover schools have 120 aides provided by his company, which saves the district about $1.3 million versus the cost if they were school system employees, he said.

“It’s a net savings, and it gives you flexibility,” he said.

His company follows state guidelines for background checks, doing fingerprinting, background assessments, interviews and pre-hire training, he said. Kelly Educational Staffing goes beyond the state requirements by vetting employees through the national sex offender registry as well, he said.

Kerr said parents and some school system employees are not convinced the company is following through, and they are looking for Hoover school officials to provide some assurances about the people given access to their children.

He wasn’t satisfied with the presentation Tuesday night. “It’s a political dog-and-pony show to prove to us they have done their due diligence, and they haven’t talked to any of us who have made complaints,” Kerr said. “How certain is this district that we are getting vetted people sent to our most vulnerable population?”

After the meeting, school system spokeswoman Sherea Harris-Turner said the superintendent was not available for questions and said any questions regarding background checks for Kelly Educational Staffing personnel would need to be answered by that company.

SEXUALLY EXPLICIT BOOKS

Parents also have concerns abouts books that children are being allowed to check out through a Sora ebook collection, particularly sexually explicit books.

Some parents were so upset that they brought in a minister from North Carolina who has become an outspoken advocate against schools being used to indoctrinate children about critical race theory and gender issues.

John Amanchukwu spoke to the Hoover school board in the three minutes he was given, criticizing them for allowing kids access to a book called “Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide for Teens.”

He read sexually explicit passages to the school board about anal sex, genital stimulation and instructions on how to clean dildos.

“Is that education?” Amanchukwu asked. “I guess you need these materials to teach kids how to have anal sex. … This is trash. … We have four men on this board. If you keep this filth in the school system, you’re either a punk or a pervert. You deserve to not be appointed to this board if you allow this to persist. This is asinine. It’s corrupt, and it should be removed.”

Maddox, the superintendent, told the board earlier in the meeting that, this past Friday, he was contacted by a Spain Park High School parent with concerns about the books available through the Sora ebook app.

The Hoover school system has three ebook libraries — one for elementary students, one from middle school students and one for high school students, Maddox said. Parents were contesting two books that had “very mature sexually explicit content” — one of which was purchased for the library in 2015 and one of which was purchased in 2018, he said.

He reviewed the books and had both pulled from the catalog, he said. “I do not believe explicit and graphic sexual content is age-appropriate for high school students.”

But Kerr said the book to which Amanchukwu referred was still available by his daughter’s school-issued Chromebook as of 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Kerr said he has tried contacting a senior central office employee and left messages indicating he had serious concerns about the online libraries but is not getting a response. He not only wants the books pulled; he wants to know what the school system’s policy and procedure are for vetting those books.

“Why are we providing that? Why do parents have to catch it? Why don’t we have people vetting the content we provide to our children?” Kerr said. “They just outsource it to this Sora, and whatever Sora puts on there is fine. … My question all along has been what is your policy so I can make a decision on what I do with my kids? No communication.”

Wednesday morning, the Hoover school system issued a statement that in addition to pulling the two books referenced by Maddox in the meeting, the district has initiated an internal audit of its Sora online library to ensure that similar books with mature sexual content are removed.

“HCS encourages parents to communicate any concerns about library materials to their school librarian or administrator and monitor their child's selections from the collection,” the statement said. “The district remains committed to being proactive in our efforts to safeguard the well-being of our students and uphold our district's mission and values. We appreciate the cooperation and support of our community as we continue to prioritize our students.”

Shaina Berry, another Hoover parent, told the school board there has been a lot of discussion about diversity, equity and inclusion recently.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives address systemic inequalities and create opportunities for historically marginalized groups,” Berry said. “It benefits everyone. It favors empathy, respect, understanding and a richer learning experience for all of our students. I support these efforts that support fairness and inclusion and create a culture of respect and inclusion for everyone in our school system.”

Berry said there also been a lot of discussion about LGBTQ+ representation in books and literature. She cited a study by The Washington Post, which reviewed more than 1,000 book challenges in school districts across the country in the 2021-22 school year and found that a majority of those book challenges were filed by 11 people. Six percent of the book challengers accounted for 60% of the challenges, the study said.

“It is my belief that banning books with LGBTQ+ representation doesn’t stop children from being curious about different topics, but it does increase discrimination, bullying and increased mental health challenges,” Berry said.

She said numerous groups support allowing LGBTQ+ representation in books, including the American Library Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of School Administrators, American Psychological Association, American Federation of Teachers and American School Health Association.

She supports providing age-appropriate materials regarding issues that are challenging for children, she said. “I think that literature reflects the reality of our world.”

Greg Phillips, a man who said he was relatively new to Hoover, said parents in Hoover are concerned and want to make sure there is accountability in the school system.

He appreciates Maddox removing the two books he did, “but it’s critically important that you all understand that, while we may not have elected you, you are accountable to us and you are accountable through those who appointed you to us,” Phillips said. “That money you spent is our tax dollars.”

In other business Tuesday night, the Hoover school board:

  • Approved Brad Hayn, a longtime administrator who has been an assistant principal at Hoover High the past 2½ years, as the district’s new transportation director to replace Jeremy Bradford, who is retiring
  • Approved a budget amendment to change the amount of money the school system expects to have as of the end of the 2024 fiscal year on Sept. 30 to $128 million — an increase of $12 million
  • Agreed to pay Standard Roofing $2.5 million to replace half the roof at Spain Park High School and $1.5 million to replace the roof at Rocky Ridge Elementary School this summer, and to pay Roofing Solutions $1.4 million to replace the second half of the roof at Simmons Middle School this summer
  • Agreed to pay McAbee Construction $1.1 million for heating, ventilation and air conditioning work
  • Created a new salary supplement for teacher mentors and added $1,000 to the salary supplement for elementary enrichment teachers
  • Recognized the Spain Park High School bowling team and Hoover High boys and girls basketball teams and boys and girls track and field teams for winning state championships this year

Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:26 p.m. on April 10 with information from a statement released by the Hoover school system regarding books in its online Sora libraries.