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Dear Editor:
Andre Miksha, JD, was appointed to the Hamilton East Public Library Board in September 2022 by the Hamilton Southeastern School Board.
For 15 years he was a Deputy Prosecutor in the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, the last 12 of those as Chief Deputy Prosecutor. Previously he was an Active Duty U.S. Army Judge Advocate stationed at the Fort Knox Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, where he achieved the rank of Captain and received the Meritorious Service Award.
He has been an engaged and faithful member of the board, making important motions and votes that have kept the library running, retained talented staff, and made meetings more accessible for Fishers and Noblesville taxpayers who work during the day. He has never missed a regular meeting, showing a commitment that few of his fellow board members have. He is, by many reports, a Republican.
And yet the HSE School Board is having a special public hearing at its central office at 7 a.m. (not a typo) on Wednesday, Aug. 30, ostensibly to remove him from the board two years before his term expires.
By voting against moving teen and children’s books that mention gender, sexuality, race, and violence to the adult section, Mr. Miksha has upheld the values and laws of the Indiana State Library, the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics, and the U.S. Constitution. He has not fallen for the false and politically motivated claims that our library contains “porn.”
For that reason, the HSE School Board seeks to remove him and replace him with someone who will vote in favor of censorship.
As an HEPL taxpayer, I oppose this dishonorable attempt to keep the board stacked with people who care more about scoring political points than they do about individual rights and responsible stewardship of our money.
Lori Hand
Noblesville
If Lori Hand’s letter regarding Andre Miksha, a member of a local library board, is accurate then it is time for others in the community to defend him. Regardless, the censorship of books is a serious matter not to be conducted by a minority, nor passively accepted by a majority. A wise person once said to me, “It is not what you say in life that you are most likely to regret. It is what you fail to say.”
Thank you for this OpEd. We cannot remove board members due to an opposing view on book bans (which- I have found, is now causing a lot of problems and backlash for Hamilton county). As we raise awareness of this atrocity, more are realizing that extremism should not rule our library and school boards. Andre Miksha deserves to remain on the board.
I agree with Ms. Hand’s assessment of Mr. Miksha character and his valuable service to our community. He’s one of only three members of the HEPL Board of Trustees who is actually listening to the wishes of the majority of our community. For this, certain members of the HSE School Board seek to remove him from the Board? Shameful.