Humble ISD trustees approved seven appointees to serve on the 2026-27 School Library Advisory Committee during the July 9 special-called meeting.
The details
Trustees were charged with appointing one member each to the committee. Among those appointed are:
- Beth Spear, who was appointed by board President Mike Grabowski
- David Branham, who was appointed by trustee Chris Parker
- Megan Waldrop, who was appointed by trustee Oscar Silva
- Cynthia Calvert, who was appointed by trustee Ken Kirchhofer
- Tiffany Thomas, who was appointed by trustee Elizabeth Shaw
- Jessica Hadley, who was appointed by trustee Marques Holmes
- Susie Helms, who was appointed by trustee Robert Scarfo
Some context
The appointments are coming after trustees voted in June to reduce the size of the committee from 21 members to a minimum of seven.
During the board’s June 16 meeting, Grabowski said the change was being recommended after board members received feedback suggesting 21 members was too large a group to manage.
The SLAC was established as part of Senate Bill 13, which passed in the 89th Texas Legislature earlier this year and expands parental rights to review and question instructional and library materials used in the district.
The bill allows districts to form local “school library advisory councils” if at least 50 parents or 10% of the parents in the district, whichever is less, sign a petition requesting a council. The councils must have at least five members, most of whom are parents. Members can make recommendations to add or remove books from a school’s library, according to the bill.
Any resident can submit complaints about books in a district’s library under SB 13.
