ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – The Rockingham County School Board voted to retain several books in the county’s school libraries but also voted to remove one.

At their meeting Tuesday night, the board voted unanimously to remove A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, following a recommendation from the Superintendent’s Content Review Committee as they determined that it contained sexually explicit material. It is the first book to be removed from the county’s school library shelves since implementing the Supplementary Materials Policy.

The Kite Runner and My Friend Dahmer were retained with 3-to-2 and 4-to-1 votes, respectively. Eleanor and Park and The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian both passed unanimously.

Despite his vote to retain The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Chair Matt Cross said the text included a racist joke that would be inappropriate for younger readers, and that it may prompt some future review.

“It’s very bad, and it’s not funny, and I just hate the thought of another kid repeating the joke that’s in the book and one of our kids, their children at school, would be hurt by that,” Cross said. “So, hopefully it’ll come back up through another process, but I’m voting ‘yes’ on that tonight.”

No more cell phones in Rockingham County high schools?

The Rockingham County School Board also discussed a potential policy change that would restrict phone use during the school day.

The current electronic device policy bans cell phones for middle schoolers, both in the classroom and the time in between. The amendment would apply the rule to high schoolers as well.

Board member Jackie Lohr disagrees with the proposed policy, saying it would keep teens from learning how to use their phones responsibly.

“When they go to college, when they go to work, we’re not going to want them on their phones and they’re gonna have to have that figured out when they graduate, and I think that this does not let them figure that out,” Lohr said. “So, those are the main reasons I’m opposed to it at this time.”

Several parents voiced their support for phone restrictions during the public comment period during last night’s school board meeting.