Ballots went out to Huntington Beach voters earlier this week for the June 10 special election regarding the two library initiatives, Measures A and B.

One local school board for a district that educates thousands of Surf City’s students essentially cast its ballot during its meeting Tuesday night.

The Ocean View School District Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution urging voters to vote “yes” on both measures.

Measure A would repeal a children’s book review board of up to 21 members populated by appointees of the Huntington Beach City Council. Measure B would require voter approval before the city outsources the library’s management, a move it has explored.

“We’ve never had any problems with our library in the past,” Board Vice President Jack Souders said. “This is a brand new thing that’s just created out of thin air. I just think it’s disingenuous from the beginning, this whole argument. It’s designed to scare people … Some things don’t have to make money. Not everything is about capitalism and making money.”

He added that normally he is not political during board meetings, but the issue was tied directly to the district’s students.

“We can run our libraries the way we want to run our libraries,” Souders said, referencing Measure B. “We’ve never needed help in the past, and we don’t need it now.”

Trustee Morgan Westmoreland similarly said she didn’t typically want to support political resolutions.

“It goes beyond politics to me, and [the children’s book review board] is government overreach, plain and simple,” she said. “I’m never going to support government overreach, and it doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you’re on.”

Several proponents of the measures showed up to the meeting, displaying signs outside of the meeting room at the district office.

Board President Patricia Singer said she prepared the resolution, along with Supt. Julianne Hoefer.

“We are receiving calls and inquiries from our community, asking us if this will impact our libraries,” Singer said in an interview with the Daily Pilot. “I think there’s a little bit of confusion as to public libraries versus school libraries. Though this is a public library [issue], our community, our parents and our students rely on this public library for educational purposes. That’s why it’s before the body to have a conversation about it and discuss in a public meeting.”

Singer added during Tuesday’s meeting that a “yes” vote on Measures A and B would “protect the legacy of integrity that the Huntington Beach Public Library has given us for decades.”

Both proponents and detractors of Measures A and B held events Wednesday night. The “No on A and B” event was attended by Mayor Pat Burns and Council members Gracey Van Der Mark and Chad Williams.

Van Der Mark has said the book review board, which has yet to be formed, is about giving parents more control in the content their children read, rather than librarians.