CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts school district says one of its librarians didn’t have permission when she tried to reject a book donation from Melania Trump.
Cambridge Public Schools says an editorial letter written by librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro represented her opinions and was not an official statement on behalf of the school district.
The librarian’s school was among one from each state chosen to receive 10 Dr. Seuss books from the first lady for National Read a Book Day.
But the librarian penned a letter for a blog entitled “Dear Mrs. Trump” saying her school has “plenty of resources” and doesn’t need the books. She called Dr. Seuss “a bit of a cliche.”
“Cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit are suffering through expansion, privatization, and school ‘choice’ with no interest in outcomes of children, their families, their teachers, and their schools,” Soeiro wrote in her response. “Are those kids any less deserving of books simply because of circumstances beyond their control? Why not go out of your way to gift books to underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos?”
The district says it has “counseled” the librarian on its policies. It says her letter “was not a formal acceptance or rejection of donated books.”
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