Play Offense

August 9, 2023
To: The Wilson County School Board

From: Cross Strength Ministries:
Pastor David Ashley, MAA, MDiv
Mrs. Holly T. Ashley, MS

RE: Book Donation for your libraries

Dear Wilson County School Board,

On July 17, 2023 Cross Strength Ministries inquired about the procedure to donate books to the Wilson County School Libraries. We were informed that per school board policy, each individual principal has the authority to approve books and cited Code 4.403, which states the following:

Responsibility for Materials Selection
The responsibility for selection of instructional materials outside of textbooks is delegated to school principals and their school staff. Selection of materials may involve many stakeholders, including teachers, library media specialists, students, administrators, parents, and the community. Principals have the discretion for determining how materials will be selected for their school building.

After contacting each of the principals of Wilson County High Schools, they have responded to us via form letter that they have deferred to you, the Wilson County School Board – with the exception of Lebanon High School, which has yet to respond.

Therefore, please see the letter to the principals in reference to our donation of 100 books to the high school’s libraries and let us know when we can deliver them.

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Dear Principals,

Donating these fantastic books to the students at Wilson County Public Schools is our privilege!

After attending several school board meetings and being involved in the various discussions, we thank you for this opportunity to be a part of the Wilson County School’s Library Objectives (2023) to “offer materials that students and faculty can use to research a wide variety of topics…” and “provide patrons a variety of genres for required and recreational reading.”

In a recent school board meeting, Mr. Luttrell stated that there is a middle ground. We agree, but we are just not there yet – This donation can certainly help meet that goal – and we cannot wait to let the community know that you have taken such an initiative to expedite this never-done-before process of accepting book donations.

Therefore, in the name of the first amendment rights of our students and the authors and materials that
have yet to be made available at your libraries, and we can agree that there needs to be equal access to all materials that address the psychological, spiritual, societal, and judicial issues facing our society – and
both sides must be represented in the name of “Intellectual Freedom” as promoted by the American
Library Association:

Education in a democratic society requires developing citizens who can adapt to changing times, make decisions about social issues, and effectively judge the performance of public officials. In fulfilling their responsibilities, public schools must not only provide knowledge of many subject areas and essential skills. Still, they must also educate students on core American values such as fairness, equality, justice, respect for others, and the right to dissent (ALA, 2017).

In another article written by the American Library Association, Access to Library Resources and Services
for Minors: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights (2006), we learn that it is imperative that these books are approved, as the school “serves as a point of voluntary access to information and ideas and as
a learning laboratory for students as they acquire critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed in a
pluralistic society” (ALA, 2017).

We will also contact Logos (Faithlife Corporation and Logos Research Systems Inc), an exhaustive Bible software program to negotiate cost-effective access to their software, ensuring our students have extensive resources.

As both my wife and I hold advanced degrees and have first-hand experience as teachers, we know the
need for comprehensive research, and our future generations must have the tools necessary to achieve their highest purpose.

Therefore, since we have noticed a deficit in the Wilson County School Library resources, we would like to take this opportunity to add to our future generation’s ability to be thorough with a wide array of scholarly books on a variety of subjects.

It is our ministry’s mission to raise up men and women of excellence, and it is our privilege to add these resources.

We thank you in advance for making these materials available to our students – at absolutely no cost to the school district. Please let us know when you will be available to receive these materials.

Additionally, Cross Strength Ministries offers a wide range of programming to address issues facing our youth. We offer these programs free of charge to our students. Please let us know when we can be of
service.

Sincerely,
Pastor David and Mrs. Ashley
Cross Strength Ministries