At the close of a nearly four-hour meeting, the county school board on Thursday night voted 6-2 to set up an 18-member committee to study the policy on books in school libraries and the content of some of the books.
Several board members had wanted to delay, saying the panel should take time to draw up exactly what it wanted from the special committee that was recommended by Chairman Tucker McClendon.
Board member Jenny Hill said she had come up with some potential guidelines, including requiring the committee members to undergo training in the law related to regulation of reading material and adding three school librarians and attorney Scott Bennett to the group.
There was a 4-4 vote on approving those guidelines, so the motion failed.
Board member Rhonda Thurman, who earlier brought up the issue after she said she found "vile content" in a number of books in school libraries, said parents she had shown some of the books "were astounded."
She said it should be made transparent to parents and others what kinds of books are being allowed in the libraries. She stated, "This is about informing parents, then parents can make the choice for themselves."
Mr. McClendon said, "This is not anything about banning books or removing books. It's just about having a conversation, to look at our policies and make them better and to deal with some concerns."
Mr. Wingate and Mr. Smith said they were concerned about "inconsistencies from school to school" on book policy.
Marco Perez had asked that the measure be delayed, saying, "I don't want this to be the focus during the first 100 days for the new superintendent."
It was unclear who would chair the panel. There was discussion of it being the superintendent or his designee.
Ms. Hill said it had been brought up that Ms. Thurman might be over the panel. She said she thought Ms. Thurman had too strong a view on the issue to effectively lead it.
Each board member is to name two members to the committee.
Meetings will be open to the public and will be livestreamed.