Jackson County votes to leave Fontana Regional Library system
Jackson County commissioners (left to right) Michael Jennings, John Smith, Mark Letson, Todd Bryson and Jenny Hooper finally settled a controversial issue on June 24.
Jackson County government photo
Editor's note: this story has been updated with a statement from Cynthia Mason Womble, acting chair of the Fontana Regional Library system board.
In a historic decision that will reshape the future of public library services in Jackson County, commissioners voted Tuesday night to withdraw from the Fontana Regional Library system after months of controversy over content and control.
The vote, which came at the close of a brief meeting with no public comment period, followed weeks of increasingly contentious debate.
Commissioners had been under mounting pressure from a vocal faction of outside agitators and Jackson County residents who claim Fontana libraries promote “inappropriate” sex education materials to minors, including LGBTQ+ materials.
Supporters of the FRL warned that the move would disrupt services, cost more and expose the county to legal liability over First Amendment issues.
Opponents countered that local control was more important than regional cooperation, accusing Fontana — without basis — of ideological drift and insufficient responsiveness.
Fontana Regional Library officials dispute that claim and spent nearly three hours June 19 answering questions from commissioners about library operations. No clear evidence of FRL’s noncompliance with the 2024 interlocal agreement signed by Jackson County was ever presented by anyone.
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Supporters also point to a robust suite of services that would be difficult — if not impossible — for the county to replicate on its own. Those services include access to the statewide NC Cardinal catalog system, coordinated IT support, bulk purchasing, shared staffing and interlibrary loans. Without Fontana, those services would need to be replaced or abandoned.
In the days leading up to the vote, commissioners delayed adopting their annual budget in what many viewed as a sign that pushing the county into the library business at an estimated cost of $500,000 annually might not be the best idea.
Earlier in the meeting, the budget passed with a substantial property tax increase.
Chairman Mark Letson led off discussion on the motion to withdraw and urged caution, citing financial, operational and procedural concerns.
“Especially after last meeting, we see that Fontana has policies in place for child safety, for content, for all of the things that we've brought up as concerns,” Letson said, adding that recent board turnover has already led to policy changes.
Letson argued that leaving Fontana now would likely cost more and could disrupt local library operations.
“Just from what we've gathered initially, it's going to cost us more in the long run than it will if we remain within Fontana,” the commissioner said. “We’ve got some immediate things that are going to have to happen, and it may leave us short-handed at the libraries.”
Citing a lack of formal book appeals, Letson said the community outcry hasn’t matched the urgency of the proposed withdrawal.
“If these books were so bad,” he said, “I would think in the last two months we would have seen a lot of appeals.”
Despite those concerns, the motion to withdraw passed with support from all but Letson.
Commissioner Jenny Hooper said only that the county needs to govern its own library.
Commissioner Todd Bryson said the joint meeting had shown him that the FRL board was unwilling to budge in ways that would violate the First Amendment and that they should “work on some of those things.”
Commissioner Michael Jennings, who said his mind was already made up back on June 3, voted to withdraw.
Commissioner John Smith, however, seemed to offer a compromise solution — perhaps giving FRL time during the yearlong disentanglement process to address concerns brought by commissioners, but that idea went nowhere.
Smith ultimately voted to withdraw, and the motion passed 4-1.
A collection of unified Jackson County FRL supporters responded swiftly, according to a statement provided to The Smoky Mountain News. The nonpartisan group is made up of residents Lauren Baxley, Teri Cole-Smith, Antoinette MacWatt, Kimberley Mason, Sarah Steiner, Steve Steinbrueck and Casey Walawender — who expressed support for the regional system, the Jackson County Public Library and its leadership.
“We are deeply disappointed by the Jackson County commissioners’ decision to withdraw from the FRL system,” the statement reads. “This move comes despite early warnings from County Manager Kevin King that operating an independent system would increase the county budget by at least half a million dollars annually, and despite a variety of adjustments made by JCPL in support of parental rights.”
The statement goes on to say that the move by commissioners threatens the library’s independence, disregards FRL’s high-performing fiscal management and ignores strong public support seen throughout the process.
“We will continue to work to protect the First Amendment rights of minors and to challenge multiple FRL and JCPL board appointments made or recommended in writing by Jackson County Commissioners,” the statement continues. “These appointments, which were explicitly noted as open to ‘Christian Conservative’ candidates, raise serious concerns about religious discrimination, violate the principle of separation of church and state, and will soon enable the removal of FRL Director Tracy Fitzmaurice. These appointments also open the door to policy changes that may infringe on the constitutional rights of minors and undermine the inclusive mission of our public libraries.”
A Jan. 16 email purportedly written by Commissioner John Smith to FRL board member Bill McGaha says Smith is pushing for more “Conservative Christian” representatives on that board. Religion has played a key role in the library dispute, with a number of pastors — through the lens of their own ideologies — denouncing the library for supposedly pushing LGBTQ+ ideology.
The statement ends by noting that residents are “actively seeking” legal counsel to challenge all actions pertaining to the FRL taken by commissioners, as has happened in Yancey County.
For librarians and staff, the decision leaves more questions than answers. Fontana employees assigned to the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva and the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library in Cashiers are technically FRL employees, not county workers. It’s unclear whether their jobs will be retained, reassigned or eliminated once the transition is complete.
Community members worry the disruption will be felt most acutely by children, seniors and lower-income residents who rely on public libraries not just for books, but for internet access, educational programming, job search assistance and social connection.
Cynthia Mason Womble, acting chair of the FRL board, issued a statement about 90 minutes after the vote. She said she was speaking only for herself, and not for her board.
"We had hoped that the joint meeting offered the Jackson County commissioners a path to a lawful resolution of their concerns. I am disappointed the Jackson County Commissioners voted to pull out of Fontana Regional Library. I believe this decision will negatively impact all three counties and wind up costing more," Womble told The Smoky Mountain News. "Over the coming year, the Board of Trustees would like to continue a dialogue with Jackson County to execute the responsibilities of the regional agreement with respect to their departure or to their remaining in the region."
What happens next will likely unfold over months. Jackson County must now send formal notice to Fontana, as required by the interlocal agreement, and begin the lengthy process of building something new from the ground up.
But one thing is clear — Jackson County’s vote to leave Fontana has closed the book on an 81-year partnership. What replaces it, and how much it costs the community in time, money and trust, is a story still being written.
