The Executive Director of the Christian County Library District, Renee Brumett has informed her Board of Trustees that she plans to resign from her position, effective January 17, 2025. Brumett has led the library district since May 2021. She took the helm in the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic and just after an expansion of the district following the passage of a 2017 tax levy.
In her letter to the board Brumett does not specify a reason, but said she is “committed to ensuring a smooth transition,” and in a separate statement she said that it was a tough decision, but she knows there are great things ahead for the library.
For almost two years of library board meetings now Brumett, the library and its Board of Trustees have faced public comment periods largely dominated by calls to sequester, label and or remove what have been described as inappropriate materials, mainly focused on LGBTQ+ items. The library has not taken any significant action on those demands.
In that time the Christian County Commission has taken a larger role in appointing new trustees, a task the district itself had more control over in the past. They appointed two trustees in 2023, and two new trustees in the last six months to the five-person board.
The Board of Trustees has undergone a perceived ideological shift in that time that has already reshaped the library as members of the board were sued by and then fired their previous attorney over a disagreement about officer elections. The board also expanded the scope of its power and increased public comment period time, among other actions in recent meetings.
Brumett's resignation follows the recent resignation of former board president Allyson Tuckness who resigned from her position as a library trustee in October. Tuckness was clear in citing public pressures and disagreements in her resignation.
Per library policy Director of Youth Services Dana Roberts will take over as interim director.
The library district serves one of the fastest growing counties in the State of Missouri, including the City of Nixa which made national news for challenges to materials in its public-school library in early 2023.
Copyright 2024 KSMU
