Update 10/25: Dr. Bernie Kepler issued a statement on the matter at the Thursday evening board meeting. The full statement is transcribed below.
Transcription of statement by PASD superintendent Dr. Bernie Kepler
So board and members of our community at the last board meeting on October 10th 2024, there was public comment addressing a concern about a secret library of books. A citizen claimed that the district had a secret library that contains sexually explicit material. This response constitutes the district’s position on this allegation.
The district approved a student-run SAGA Club in 2015. The Saga Club is a student-run club that meets at the end of the school day on school property. Any student is welcome, but the club is mostly attended by LGBTQIA+ students and their allies. Like every student club, a district employee is assigned as an advisor to oversee the activities of the club.
This adult does not run the club. The district’s position is that the superintendent’s office simply oversees the club’s activities, supervises students, and ensures they do not violate school rules or policies. An assigned advisor is not a participant, but an observer. The allegations raised by the citizen were already brought to the administration’s attention, investigated, and resolved when it was originally brought to the superintendent’s attention in May of 2024.
When the public comment was made at the last meeting, the district reopened the investigation and reexamined whether it had missed any concerns. The district administration investigated the concern, consulted with legal counsel, and determined the following. It was discovered in May of 2024 that the SAGA club had a student held collection of books that was supported by their student-run club.
The SAGA club books were maintained in a high school classroom closet where the SAGA club’s meetings are held. The books in question were the private books of that club, were not part of the district’s library system, and were not publicly available to the student body. The books were privately maintained.
The SAGA club books had a sticker on the inside cover that identified them as property of the Palmyra Area High School SAGA club. No evidence has been found to suggest that any of the books maintained by the SAGA club have been accessed by club members in approximately one year. There’s no evidence that any of the books maintained by the SAGA club students were sexually explicit or not appropriate to be in private possession of students on school property during SAGA club meetings.
News articles have made mention of a specific book allegedly being possessed by an adult employee. Based upon the administration’s investigation, it is clear that there is no evidence that the book referenced in the news article was ever in possession or in the presence of students. Nor was it part of the SAGA club’s private collection of books.
As soon as concerns were raised about the club’s private collection of books, the district immediately requested that the labels be removed to ensure separation from the district and that the books be removed from the school setting during the pendency of the investigation.
Since the completion of the initial investigation in May 2024, the books have not returned. The SAGA club no longer maintains a collection of books on campus. Nonetheless, the district recognizes the importance of student run clubs that address diversity of interests and positions. None of the actions of the SAGA club students violated district policy or state or federal law.
The district promotes an environment that is welcome to all students and seeks to ensure that no individual is subjected to discrimination. As to the concerns raised about a district employee, the district cannot comment on a personnel matter for confidentiality and legal reasons.
Rumors of a “secret library” of books at Palmyra Area High School will likely be addressed at a meeting of the district school board Thursday evening.
Palmyra Area School District superintendent Dr. Bernie Kepler told LebTown that he expects to address the issue at the regular board meeting after the issue was brought to public attention at a meeting on Oct. 10.
At that meeting, Trish Layden, mother of two current Palmyra Area High School students, addressed the board to highlight an alleged incident involving a staff member at the high school who she described as maintaining a “secret library” of books, some of which she said contained sexually explicit material, which were available for students to borrow and share during group meetings.
Layden said at the meeting that the situation was discovered by Katryna Griffin, who was at the time an employee of the district, on May 30. Layden told board members that the books were camouflaged to appear as if they were from the school library.
Layden said at the meeting that high school principal Dr. Scott Richardson took immediate action upon learning about the books from Griffin, saying Richardson demanded the surrender of the books and confiscated 40 to 50 titles. Layden also said Richardson had informed Kepler of the books and told the board that Kepler subsequently characterized the collection as being improperly labeled and used in an unregulated manner.
Contacted by LebTown last week, Kepler said the administration was reviewing the information and declined to comment until the conclusion of the review. He confirmed Wednesday that he anticipates addressing the topic at Thursday’s board meeting.
The incident has attracted the attention of local conservative activist and ELCO school board member Rachel Moyer, who announced a “pre-meeting rally” on Facebook earlier this week.
Moyer told LebTown she is holding the event because “my grassroots group (Pennsylvanians for Freedom) has members in Palmyra and they are concerned about what is going on.”
Interviewed by LebTown, Layden said she had learned about the situation through Griffin, then decided to speak publicly about the issue a couple weeks ago following another conversation with Griffin.
“Katryna and I are friends, and she told me about it,” said Layden. “She was trying to go through all the proper ways to get something done about it and nobody would do anything about it.”
“We thought the only way to get people talking about it was to go to the meeting,” Layden added, noting she was accompanied by Griffin to the Oct. 10 meeting.
As she is not a resident of the district, Griffin said she was unable to speak at the PASD public comment session herself.
Griffin told LebTown that she learned about the incident through her role as high school nurse, which she held for five years before leaving earlier this year in a career move unrelated to this situation. Griffin said that she and another colleague had been discussing a silly “Urban Dictionary” word and what it meant when another teacher chimed in to say something to the effect of, “If you want an education on this, read this book,” and handed her a copy of The Queens’ English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases.
Griffin said the staff member told her she could borrow it, and in it she said she found explicit sexual material, along with what she described as graphic cartoon pictures, some of which depicted bondage, along with discussions of consent, BDMS, kinks, etc. She also said there were stick figure drawings of various sexual positions.
Griffin said that the books – along with newspaper clippings and magazines – were part of a secret library maintained by the high school adviser to the school’s SAGA club, or the Sexuality And Gender Alliance. She said that although the club is official and board-approved, its unofficial library was kept secret.
Griffin confirmed Layden’s version of what happened next: She brought the book to Richardson the next day, and he took possession of the library from the teacher.
Layden said the confiscation of the books was commendable, but complained that the district did not notify parents about the situation.
The material, Griffin said, all had stickers indicating they belonged to the school library. She did not recall any other specific work in the collection, which she said had 40 to 50 titles.
Layden noted that under the district’s policy #220, “materials sought to be distributed or posted as part of the curricular or extracurricular programs of the district shall be regulated as part of the school district’s educational program.”
Griffin said that policy #122 is also relevant, describing a goal of extracurricular activities as an “understanding of the elements and responsibilities of good citizenship.”
In an interview with LebTown, Griffin said that she discussed the situation with Kepler on May 31. She said she asked him, “What happens next?” and he said he did not want to report the incident to the school board. Griffin quoted Kepler as saying “I know what they’re going to do for this staff member and I don’t want that to happen.” Griffin said she interpreted this to mean he did not want the teacher fired or disciplined.
Griffin said she also brought the matter the same day to the attention of PASD board member Jill Martin, who she described as being similarly concerned about student safety. Griffin said Martin took it up as a parental concern but, when Griffin later checked in with the board member, she was told that there hadn’t been much movement.
Griffin said it was her understanding that the teacher is still SAGA’s adviser.
Griffin said her focus is on student safety and parental rights, not banning books. She said she thinks education and resources for the LGBTQIA+ community are very important.
“I want to encourage healthy discussion and tolerance,” she said, adding that there are good resources out there for this community.
She also said that she will attend the pre-meeting rally and bring along a copy of “The Queen’s English” so parents can see for themselves whether she is “blowing things out of proportion,” as she said she’s been accused of doing on social media.
Tonight, she said, she’s “hoping that what should have happened in May happens now.” Griffin said parents have a right to know what their children are exposed to and to be sure they are safe at school.
“I hope the district does what is right for the parents and the community and these children,” she said.
Layden said that as far as she knows the teacher has not been held accountable. She said she brought the issue to the Oct. 10 public comment session not out of a desire to see the teacher fired but because she “thought the whole point of these policies they have put in place is that things are supposed to be regulated.” She said she wants to understand how the situation occurred and make sure parents can know what is going on in schools and what kind of information is being shared with students.
‘”There was nothing like even a little email saying, ‘Hey, this happened, now the books are gone,'” said Layden. “I just feel like there was absolutely nothing. If we do have policies that are in place, then they need to be used and followed.”
She remarked that her 14-year-old daughter needs permission slips signed to watch a PG-13 movie in her English class.
“I think it’s pretty straightforward, we just want to be involved,” said Layden. “Parents just want to be involved.”
The Palmyra Area School District board of directors meets Thursday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
More Top Stories
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
