See Video: Elmhurst Residents Argue Over Book

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst School District 205 board has avoided a vote on the controversial novel, "American Street."

But several residents spoke about the book anyway at Tuesday's board meeting.

Resident Tom Chavez, who led the charge against the novel, accused the board of pushing a "low-grade, vulgar curriculum" that is degrading the community.

Another resident, Kevin Kresnicka, repeatedly referred to Chavez, who lost his bid for school board in the April election, as a "failed candidate."

In a memo for the meeting, the district said York High's English department agreed to use excerpts from "American Street" in its curriculum. That allows the board to stay out of the matter, although previous boards approved the book for freshmen in 2012 and 2019.

At an April board meeting, Chavez, who leads a local conservative group, read passages from "American Street" that included obscenities and a racial slur. He said such a book does not belong in a curriculum.

In his comments, Kresnicka, who said he was reading a letter from his wife, Rocca Maria Balice, said Chavez and his allies are suggesting that teachers are trying to "groom" children with books such as "American Street."

"They have accused educators, administrators, board members of wanting to sexualize students," Kresnicka said. "They do it with an insidious wink and smile, saying they are just asking questions."

He said Chavez opposed a passage about a prison guard who urinated on a man to humiliate him.

"Why does (Chavez) believe that is sexually graphic?" Kresnicka said. "If that's his kink, I'm not here to judge. But he is sexualizing something that is not sexual. Why do opponents of 'American Street' keep reading over and over one part of the book?"

He said the "failed candidate" suggested the district could use materials that everyone can agree on.

"I have a sneaking suspicion when the failed candidate says something 'we' can all agree on, the 'we' really means 'he,'" Kresnicka said. "The vast majority of voters didn't agree. This manufactured hysteria about 'American Street' has nothing to do with the book and everything to do with a small minority of sore losers who are anti-public education, anti-teacher and anti-inclusion."

He urged the board to approve "American Street."

As Chavez walked up to make a statement, an audience member heckled him, saying, "Let's go failed candidate."

Chavez took board member Kelly Asseff to task for a comment on Facebook after the April meeting. Asseff, who defeated Chavez in the election, noted Chavez's reading of vulgar passages from "American Street."

She wrote, "Tom, you know our young daughters were in the room. Don't act like you forgot all of a sudden. And my 13-year-old stayed in the room."

Her family was there because she took the oath of office that night.

In his comments, Chavez said Asseff demonstrated a level of immaturity.

"She never stopped to critically think or consider or show empathy for the hundreds of other parents in the community who also don't want their children exposed to it," Chavez said. "Kelly, I encourage you to go back and relearn the chapters from your childhood development books and circle back to the community to explain how exposing an 8-year-old to graphic sexual content is any different than exposing a 14-year-old to it."

He said he would save her the time.

"There is no difference. Eight-year-olds and 14-year-olds are children, not adults. Full stop," he said.

Chavez contended academic proficiency has "cratered" in the district. And he said books like "American Street," which he said lack a complex vocabulary, are part of the reason.

"I challenge you to think deeply and critically about your decisions and their consequences when half the kids in D205 read and do math below grade level but can explain in graphic detail what oral sex is," he said. "Perhaps the district's educational priorities are backward."

As is its policy, the board did not respond to the comments.