MOORPARK : Trustee Continues Bid to Remove Books

As a last-ditch attempt to have books by novelist Jean Auel removed from Moorpark High School’s reading list, school board member Tom Baldwin plans to appeal to his fellow board members.

Baldwin has been fighting to have Auel’s “The Clan of the Cave Bear” and three of her other books taken off the school reading list, saying they contain sexually explicit passages that are inappropriate for young readers.

Two separate committees of parents and teachers in the Moorpark Unified School District have rejected Baldwin’s demand.

Baldwin said Supt. Thomas G. Duffy wrote to him about 10 days ago refusing to overturn the committees’ decisions. Duffy could not be reached for comment.

Baldwin plans to bring the matter before the board Jan. 25.

Baldwin wants “The Clan of the Cave Bear,” “The Valley of the Horses,” “The Mammoth Hunters” and “The Plains of Passage” removed from the recommended list.

Fellow board member Clint Harper said the issue boils down to whether the books are appropriate for 11th-graders. The reading list recommends the Auel novels for high school juniors.