Lawndale Committee Reviews Series

As Redondo Beach school trustees were voting to retain the controversial “Impressions” reading books, the Lawndale School District also was facing pressure from parents who want the series to be discontinued.

A dozen parents spoke before the Lawndale school board Tuesday night and criticized the books, saying the series features “dark, ghastly themes” and has little or no educational value.

In response to earlier complaints, the board last month assigned a committee of nine parents, 13 teachers and five administrators to review the series and make a recommendation to the board. The committee has met once and will meet again today. But school officials said they do not know how long it will be before the committee completes its review.

During Tuesday’s meeting, board members said they will wait for the committee’s recommendation before making a final decision on the books, which have been in use in first- through third-grades since September and in fourth- and sixth-grades since November.

A spokesman for People for the American Way, a nonpartisan organization that opposes censorship, said the decision by Redondo Beach will encourage other districts to withstand pressure from parents who want the series discontinued.

However, Lawndale School District Supt. James L. Waters said in an interview Wednesday that he does not think the decision by the Redondo Beach district will “impact us one way or another.”

He said Lawndale school board members will decide the fate of the books based on the committee’s recommendation and each board member’s personal assessment of the series.

However, he said that if Redondo Beach had decided to reject the books, the decision might have given encouragement to parents in Lawndale who are concerned about the series.

Assistant Supt. David Moorhouse said the book’s publisher, Holt, Rinehart & Winston of Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, has voluntarily offered to replace the series with a revised set of books.

The new set, a toned-down U.S. version of the series, also will be reviewed by the committee.

However, Waters said he doesn’t think the revisions would placate most of the parents who oppose the books.

During the meeting, one parent said the revisions would not ease his concerns because the revised books have been produced by “the same minds.”