“Hillsborough County School Superintendent Under Fire” This is Something to Think About 06.05.25
Something to Think About
Audio By Carbonatix
“Hillsborough County School Superintendent Under Fire”
Bill Bunkley’s “This Is Something to Think About”
Air Date Thursday, June 5, 2025
The fight over inappropriate books in our state’s public school libraries has taken an unusual twist in Hillsborough County. The ongoing debate over which library books are age-appropriate for children remains a highly contentious issue.
In Hillsborough County, the Superintendent of Schools, Van Ayres, is on the hot seat, under fire for not only removing books identified by the state as inappropriate but also pulling hundreds of additional books, many of which are literary classics such as a novel on Ann Frank’s diary, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and Toni Morison’s The Bluest Eyes.
In doing so, Ayres has enraged all sides of the debate, including school board members who were not briefed or consulted before the books were removed.
Common sense and collaboration are the best remedies for Mr. Ayres to extricate himself from unforced error.
Bill Bunkley is a 19-year veteran Salem Media talk show host based in Tampa. The Bill Bunkley Show airs weekdays across central Florida from 3 to 6 pm. Bill is also President of the Florida Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention (Southern Baptist Convention Churches), among other churches and entities. He has served as the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention for the last 29 years at the state capitol in Tallahassee. By the Grace of his Lord Jesus, he is today a cancer survivor diagnosed in 2018 with AML Leukemia, having successfully undergone a bone marrow transplant that same year. His wife is Toni, son is Zac, and they attend Idlewild Baptist Church.
Copyright © William H. (Bill) Bunkley 2025 All Rights Reserved
