Lynchburg City Council Hears from Advocates for Schools and Libraries
The Lynchburg City Council held its first meeting of the year Jan. 14, and has since heard from various community advocates seeking to improve Lynchburg’s special education programs, encourage infrastructure changes and implement a review board for the public library’s children’s books.
During its initial meeting, the Council heard from a representative for the Rivermont Schools regarding a new facility for its special education programs. According to Cardinal News, Rivermont Schools teaches students K-12 with special needs. The school is growing and has emphasized the need to move into a new building on Leesville Road to accommodate its student population. Rivermont Schools requested a conditional use permit to use the new facility.
The Council heard a similar request March 11 from Save Our School (SOS) representative Colleen Larkins, who advocated for $5.5 million to fund salaries for teachers and special education aides.
“Crumbling schools and not enough funding are getting us nowhere,” Larkins said. “We need that $5.5 million, not for luxuries (but) for necessities.”
A significant portion of the March 11 meeting focused on the Lynchburg Public Library. In addition to the topic of larger staff salaries, advocates discussed the prominence of LGBTQ and left-leading material in the children and teen’s section, including explicit material in books intended for minors.
Lynchburg resident Corey Thomas expressed her concern about the presence of LGBTQ and critical race theory books geared towards toddlers. Thomas also pointed out a political bias in reading material, with an abundance of biographies on liberal political figures overtaking the shelves, and a negligible number of biographies on conservative individuals, including those who have served as president or in the Supreme Court.
City Elders representative Greg Berry also spoke on the topic of LGBTQ children’s books, and quoted Genesis 1:27, which states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Multiple citizens requested that the Lynchburg Public Library create a review board that would assess the library’s selection of books with special attention to children’s books. These individuals stated that a review board would help provide a better balance of reading material in the library.
While some residents expressed concerns about the selection of reading material at the Lynchburg Public Library, citizens from a variety of backgrounds recognized the value of a quality public library and advocated for renovations. According to Lynchburg News and Advance, the city proposed a $12.5 million renovation for its current library building in April. This renovation would update the Lynchburg Main Branch location.
These concerns regarding the Lynchburg Public Library come as the Council is considering a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for city parks, schools and other infrastructure projects.
According to the City of Lynchburg website, a public PDF was released with a proposal Feb. 25 to provide residents with information on the proposed 2026-2030 fiscal year CIP. The Lynchburg City Council held a Budget Public Meeting on April 22 at 6:30 p.m. to allow citizens to share their perspectives on the budget plan.
According to the proposal, “The Comprehensive Plan presents a vision of what the community will be like in the future and identifies the steps required to move toward that vision.”
Barta is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion.