ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The embattled chief of St. Charles City-County libraries is resigning to take the top job at another library district.
District CEO Jason Kuhl, who has served in the post since 2017, told staff in an email on Friday.
“I know leadership changes aren’t easy, but I truly feel the organization is on the right path, and this is the right time for a change, both for myself and for the library,†he said in the letter.
Kuhl over the past year had become the target of public anger over complaints about a library employee’s attire, some books in the system’s collection with LGBTQ themes and characters, and others about sex, gender and identity, plus a short-lived plan to close three branches. Some of the meetings over the year drew hundreds of residents and heated tempers.
Kuhl, who previously worked at a library in Illinois and as a branch manager in St. Louis County, did not say publicly where he was going, and declined interview requests.
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But it’s not the first time Kuhl considered leaving. Last fall, he was named as a finalist for a library job in Nashville, Tennessee.
Reaction on Friday was mixed.
St. Charles County Councilman Joe Brazil, a Republican, said he was happy Kuhl is out. “He had a political agenda and libraries should be free of politics,†Brazil said.
Kelly Schroeder, a St. Charles resident and library board meeting regular, said she was thrilled. She called Kuhl “a toxic part of our library district.â€
Others defended Kuhl — though they weren’t surprised he was leaving, either.
“I don’t think people really understood, or maybe they have forgotten, but Jason Kuhl went through hell for this community,†said Sue Quinn, a retired library acquisitions assistant.
Quinn recalled being in meetings when critics hurled insults at Kuhl, especially when factions of the St. Charles community protested the library over allegations that an unnamed worker was wearing makeup, nail polish and a goatee. That kickstarted a firestorm that spread to book challenges and demands for a stricter dress code.
“I think all of that took a huge toll on him,†Quinn said. “He couldn’t say anything. He couldn’t defend himself from those accusations and insults. These people didn’t and don’t know Jason. I do, and I know for a fact that he is a good man.â€
Patrons said they supported Kuhl’s decision to back his employees and the district’s book-review process. But when he pitched closing the three branches — McClay in St. Charles, Deer Run in O’Fallon and Kisker Road near Weldon Spring — some had to rethink their support.
“If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that I was a big supporter of Jason and how he had supported the staff through those earlier controversies. I would have said he was a great director,†said library regular Rachel Garrett. “But the plan to close library branches was not a good one.â€
“We don’t know if that idea was necessarily his,†she continued, “but it had his name on it and I think he is blamed for it.â€
Heather Mudd, of O’Fallon, praised Kuhl for how he expanded the library’s collection and added new community programs and resources to the library district, but her support waned, too, over the plan to close the branches.
“I think Jason could have helped himself if he would have just admitted that the plan was wrong,†Mudd said. “But he didn’t.â€
Several said they worry now that would-be applicants may not apply because of the recent controversies.
Kuhl’s last day at the St. Charles County system is set for Nov. 4.
Library trustee Matthew Seeds said the board will form a search committee, find an interim director and then search for a new director.