Baldwin ? A Baldwin school district committee was disbanded Monday before it could begin evaluating the merit of a controversial novel used in a freshman class.

The school board agreed Sept. 22 that the committee would review “We All Fall Down” and make a recommendation about its future use in the district.

The book had been removed from an orientation class for ninth-graders by Supt. Jim White after some parents complained about sexually explicit text.

But the board’s decision to form a review committee was reversed Saturday when board members voted 6-1 to do away with the panel.

Review of the book now will wait until after the board approves a new district policy addressing public challenges of classroom curriculum materials, said board member Stacy Cohen.

“They’re going to start from scratch,” said Cohen, who opposed dropping the review committee.

The district’s policy manual currently only outlines steps for handling challenges or complaints about library materials.

About 100 people attended the Sept. 22 board meeting to hear debate about the use of “We All Fall Down.”

No members of the public were at Saturday’s session, Cohen said. The agenda originally contained only one item, which was to be discussion about a new telephone system.

The book evaluation committee was to have been formed by the Baldwin High School principal, and would have submitted a recommendation to the board in a couple of weeks.

The book will remain out of the hands of students in the orientation class pending outcome of the review.

“We All Fall Down,” by Robert Cormier, examines teenage issues that include peer pressure, alcohol abuse and divorce. There are sexual references and explicit language.