Ah, the best laid plans. Just as it felt time to lighten things up pre-election and write about one of the myriad things that make Jefferson County such a magical place, darkness descended once again upon the Quilcene Public Schools.

During the Oct. 16 regular monthly Quilcene school board meeting, right-wing agenda-driven board member Jim Hodgson introduced a book ban resolution. Although its wording differed from the resolution that he promoted this past summer, it still misidentified the school library as “private.”

After claiming that the previous school board had accepted and purchased books “on sensitive and controversial sexual topics,” it called for their donation to the “Jefferson County Library” or, if that was not possible, for their removal. It also proposed that “no further books be purchased for our private school library on explicit sexual material without board approval.”

Tipped off in advance, I was among many who sounded the alarm to the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. As a result, over 70 people attended the meeting via Zoom. Others attended in person. Students, parents, librarians, teachers, counselors, community members... everyone spoke passionately and from the heart. Some read their comments, sometimes haltingly and with fear; others spoke forthrightly.

Rarely have I felt so blessed and grateful to share space with so many open-hearted and passionately committed people as I did during that meeting. I was especially moved by the male teacher who stood up and affirmed that all Quilcene students, regardless of race, sexual orientation, or gender are welcome and deserving of respect in his class. Comments by the former school librarian, who spoke movingly about how pressure from the board had proven so great that she had resigned, also stood out. Another woman affiliated with the school championed the importance of facts as she cited every Washington state rule and regulation that the proposed resolution would violate, along with the possibility of fines, sanctions, and more. Many pledged that they were poised to file complaints with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

And then all hell broke loose. Less than a minute after an extremely sensitive father began to speak, malicious hackers disrupted the Zoom by broadcasting pornographic footage and blaming the dad for showing the footage. As the poor man attempted to defend himself and various people expressed dismay, the school’s mortified technical support person shut down the Zoom.

Thanks to dedicated Quilcene community member Anne Bessey, whom Hodgson defeated in the last school board election, and Cortney Beck, Quilcene Teacher’s Union president and teacher, we know what happened next. Beck’s husband, Keith, stood up and said that if Hodgson and some other members of the school board hadn’t put so much focus on LGBTQ+ repression, the hackers would not have felt the need to disrupt the Zoom.

“Most of you need to step down from your positions,” he said, before asking the Quilcene high school freshman who served as the student body representative on the school board if he was okay. When board members tried to shut Beck down, he responded, “He’s a child, and not one of you stopped to see if he’s okay!”

As Hodgson stuck to his guns, the one liberal on the five-person school board, Vivien Kuehl, declared that it wasn’t the board’s job to ban books. When Hodgson claimed that his proposed book ban was not a book ban, Kuehl corrected him and expressed dismay at having to repeatedly deal with the other members’ personal agendas.

Kuehl also countered assertions by board members Shona Davis and Ron Frantz that the books Hodgson wanted to remove contained pornographic material. Undeterred, Hodgson elicited gasps from meeting attendees when he muttered something about people who wish to be called “they” are people who want to neuter themselves, and that the school staff works for the school board. Needless to say, he was corrected... again.

Finally, Superintendent Ron Moag declared that the board needs to trust librarians and staff to make the best decisions for Quilcene students. He, librarian Carrie Thompson, and Kuehl all affirmed that students under age 13 cannot read young adult books without written parental permission. Hodgson, it seems was unaware of that school regulation. After Kuehl declared that drawing so much attention to the library’s LGBTQ+ books would only make students more eager to read them, and Moag requested that the district lawyer attend the next meeting, Hodgson tabled the resolution.

“Quilcene teachers are so supportive,” Beck told me after the meeting. “Every teacher, regardless of religious belief, want to make sure that they call their students by their correct pronouns, and make them feel accepted at school.

“Our students are the most accepting, inclusive, loving group of children that I’ve ever been around. If they can learn to love and accept each other’s differences and quirks, then the adults in our community can follow suit.”

Yes, they can. As much as this 79-year-old knows how difficult it can be to remember everyone’s pronouns — with horror and regret, I have discovered myself inadvertently misgendering people on more than one occasion — I know that all who care, regardless of age, can find ways to accept, accommodate, and grow. Hodgson and some of his fellow school board members may not choose to do so, but you and I can.

Here’s to election results that allow us to keep learning, growing, thriving, and loving in our gloriously diverse and endearingly quirky community.

Jason Victor Serinus is a critic of culture, music, and audio. A longtime advocate for rights, equality, and freedom, he is also a professional whistler. Column tips: jvsaisi24@gmail.com