School Board Member Accused of Retaliation After Woman Opposes Book's Banning

A Conejo Valley Unified School District board member is under fire for accusing a resident of cyber bullying after she opposed the banning of a book.

The ordeal began over a debate on the suitability of a book titled "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian."

Las year, Thousand Oaks resident Jessica Weihe heard that the district board was considering a plan to put the book on a restricted list due to passages in the text that contained some strong language.

So, in January of this year, she attended a board meeting and called out board member Mike Dunn. "He said something to the effect that he wasn't sure he would want his kids reading this book," Weihe said.

Dunn had expressed his concern about the book being used in the district's curriculum, but Weihe countered that he probably hadn't even read it.

Two days later, her boss at a prominent marketing company received emails from Dunn's district account calling Weihe an abusive "cyber bully" who is part of a nationwide attack on "Republicans, conservatives and Christians."

The emails also threatened to expose the company for "supporting her opinions" whenever she engaged in such "slander and libel."

Weihe calls the emails "retaliation" and an attempt to stifle her right to free speech. "It doesn't matter what I said; what matters is that I had a right to say it," she said.

Dunn did not return a request for comment from NBC4.

On Tuesday, the district was set to consider censuring Dunn, an order that Weihe says will likely do little more than get her an apology from the board president.

However, she believes the principle matters more than the punishment.

"A constituent should never, ever fear retaliation for using their right to free speech," she said.