BOONE (AP) — Watauga County school officials say teachers can still have their students read the book “The House of Spirits.”
The county board of education voted 3-2 Thursday night to allow continued use of the book.
A parent complained about the book in October. Chastity Lesesne is upset that the book includes scenes of rape and torture. The board opponents of using the book in class tried to get it removed from the curriculum but keep it in the school library. That effort failed.
Sophomore honors English teacher Mary Kent Whitaker said in the four semesters she has used the book in class, more than 90 percent of parents approved their children reading it. Others were given an alternative.
Boone police are investigating 11 threatening letters sent to teachers about the book.