Hilton school district forming committee to evaluate book named in bomb threat

HILTON, N.Y. — The Hilton School District says it will appoint a committee to review the book titled “This Book is Gay.” The committee, which will include three community members, will review the book by Juno Dawson in its entirety to decide if the content is appropriate for the high school library.

The book was the motive behind an email bomb threat against the school district on March 22. That threat said that pipe bombs were placed at all Hilton schools and other buildings because the school library owns a copy of the book. No bombs were found and the school got two similar threats days later.

According to Hilton Central School Superintendent Dr. Casey Kosiorek, Hilton purchased the book in 2015 and the single copy is checked out to another school district.

The district says it will review the book because of a citizen’s request. Here is the statement on Thursday from the Hilton Central School District about the review:

The Hilton Central School District has received a Citizen’s Request for Re-evaluation of Instructional Materials for a High School Library Book titled This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson. Per Hilton Board of Education (BoE) Policy #8320, a Special Review Committee will be appointed by the Superintendent to review the book in its entirety and make a recommendation to the Board regarding the status of the Citizen’s Request for Re-evaluation of Instructional Materials.