7 days ago
Lowell school librarian sues parent, alleging smear campaign
LOWELL, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan school librarian is suing a parent who she says harassed her for years over the library's catalog.
'The accusations that have been made against me are not even decent. They're absolutely horrific things that people have said,' Christine Beachler told News 8.
Beachler, the library media director for Lowell Area Schools, said she has found herself in the national spotlight after Stefanie Boone, a parent of a Lowell student, launched an alleged smear campaign against her.
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In her civil lawsuit, Beachler claims Boone has posted countless social media texts and videos over the past five years calling Beachler a 'smut-peddling media specialist,' 'groomer' and 'pedophile.'
'They're accusing me of criminal activity. They're making accusations that I am abusing children. And that's not right,' she said.
The alleged attacks started after Boone, a member of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, appealed library books that contained LGBTQ+ themes.
'Rather than sexually grooming our children in school, how about we groom them to be upstanding citizens who are accountable, responsible, respectful,' Boone said during a board of education meeting last academic year. 'Gone are the days of denying the existence of sexually explicit material in our schools.'
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Beachler told News 8 that the district has more than 75,000 books spread across its six libraries. Of those, only two have been flagged in the past five years for mature content. A special committee and the school board read the two books entirely and opted to retain the titles in the school's collections.
'It's important to remember that library books are optional. These are not required materials. These are not curriculum materials,' Beachler said.
Additionally, Beachler told News 8 that Lowell Area Schools offers parents an option of restricting specific books and genres their kids can access.
'I understand that they do have the right to control what their children read. But what some of them are forgetting is that they don't have the right to control what other students read,' she added.
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Still, Beachler said the harassment has gotten so bad due to Boone's alleged post that she has received death threats.
'I have been confronted a few times out in the community and so I really don't go many places in the community anymore,' Beachler said.
Beachler is suing Boone for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
News 8 reached out to Boone and her attorney several times requesting an interview, but all requests were denied.
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