FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – Hundreds of citizens — incensed by the “filth” they say can be found on the public school library shelves in Forsyth County — crowded into the Board of Education meeting room Tuesday to express their outrage at the Board and Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden.

At least three Forsyth County deputies were in attendance but, while there was a white-hot anger expressed by some parents, the hearing was peaceful.

Allison Hair was the first to speak but when she began to read an excerpt from “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” that contained a graphic description of oral sex, Chairman Wes McCall quickly gaveled her to a stop, saying, “We have younger people here.” That drew laughter from the audience and outrage from Hair, who shouted, “If it’s inappropriate to be read in this body, it is inappropriate to be in our schools. How dare you say there are minors here. My son is a minor and this book is in my son’s middle school.”

Hair added, “This Board has let us down. Each of you has accountability for what you are doing to my child. You all should be ashamed. You are accountable for the filth you have brought into our schools. Who are you to introduce pornographic material to my child?”

Carey McLaughlin said she has personally read more than 70 books in middle and high school libraries that portrayed graphic descriptions of intercourse, oral sex, masturbation, sexual assault, date rape, sexual trafficking, and sex with a teacher.

“These are the books I personally found,” she said. “I’m sure there are more than just at that one school, which means there are hundreds in our school district. When I followed the process to have these books reviewed, I was told that only one book can be reviewed over a 45-day period. At that rate, it will take 12 years for these obscene books to be removed.”

Cindy Martin said the process is unacceptable and she called on Bearden to conduct an audit. “If he does not, he is in dereliction of his duties and we demand this Board remove him from his position immediately,” she said. Her comment was met with loud applause from the audience.

Martin added that Bearden told her he had removed eight books and that he was done. Martin said he told her the rest was “up to the parents.”

Amy Perlman accused the Board of not meeting its legal obligations. “When evidence of improper conduct of a teacher is given to the administration to handle, the Board is required to report that unethical conduct to the Georgia Professional Standards Code of Ethics as a violation. Why is Forsyth County not honoring that legal requirement?”

Four people spoke in opposition to removing books.

James Barker, who graduated from Lambert High School three years ago, said, “I share the concern of many parents here. We have an issue with sexually explicit content in the books. Parents should have a say in what (children) can check out of the library.” But he expressed concern that books like Of Mice and Men and 1984 might be removed. He suggested putting books in school libraries that can only be checked out with parental approval.