School District Library Books

Today we received a listing of all books in all school libraries of the district. This may be the most expensive sunshine request we’ve seen yet. With the release of the files, the requestor a Mr Kyle Phillips also released this statement:

SJSD Book Lists – Many have asked for details…

Back on December 19, 2023, I made a personal Sunshine request of the SJSD regarding the book lists in the public-school libraries. I was informed my request would cost $410.90. I dropped off a check on December 22nd and later picked up the requested documents on January 12th. The request itself is shown on the district website. Since obtaining the documents, which are comprised of 3,812 pages, I have scanned and made all the PDF documents text searchable.

On March 5th, Dr. Jacob McMillian contacted me to inquire about specifics in the information I had obtained. I understand that Dr. McMillian made reference to certain titles we had discussed at the Academics Committee meeting, which I did not attend. In late March there was a FB post written by Melissa Corey (the SJSD website indicates she is the librarian at Robidoux Middle School) which appeared to imply nefarious actions by myself and/or Dr. McMillian. You will have to find her post if you are interested, because since that time it is no longer available to me. I have yet to understand the motivation for her post as the truth is simple and detailed above. Since her post, others have reached out inquiring about the information.

As a result of her post there were comments that were disappointing. Several comments contained personal details about our family and our educational choices. Basically, they indicated that it seemed odd that I was interested in the information – seemingly to imply that since we have homeschooled and also sent our kids to private school I was not entitled to be interested.

However, we have had many more friends of our family reach out privately. Clearly, most viewed Melissa Corey’s post and comments made by others as attempts to disparage me, my employer, and/or Dr. McMillian with inaccurate information at best. Let me stress – the information obtained is a public record. In fact, I would argue that any member of this community should not have to spend $410.90 to obtain such important documents. Furthermore, I can only suppose that it was possible for the SJSD to produce electronic files instead of printing them – but regardless, I have them in my possession and intend to make them available electronically to the entire community in a link below.

Regarding my own interest in these documents, as stated above, some have questioned my interest in the documents because my kids do not attend school in the SJSD. My wife and I are lifelong residents of St. Joseph. We are products of the public school system. We want good schools and good education for our community. Additionally, we placed a very high value on the quality of the literature we used while homeschooling and have always highly valued this aspect of education. It’s funny how many people want individuals to engage in their community regarding public education but really only if you share their views on it. In this case, it appears that my views have been assumed. I have seen many comments from people who do not currently have children in the district, and for some reason their engagement is viewed differently from my own. The point is, I have every right to an opinion as they do. The fact is, I haven’t shared an opinion.

I’ve looked over these documents myself. I am not going to say anything in this post about what they contain regarding content. After doing your own research you might find something worth talking about.

Kyle Phillips

Many thanks to Mr Phillips for donating $410.90 to the cause for public transparency. Below are the files he released.