Middletown North graduate returns Shilique Calhoun and his Michigan State teammates coming to face Rutgers. 1C Required-reading novels about sex and rape questioned by parents at Rumson-Fair Haven RUMSON How many obscenities should a senior be given to read for English class in public school? Is reading about “dusting off a diaphragm” too much for juniors? Or are explicit passages simply small parts of complex literary works that help expand how stu- dents in one of the state’s elite school districts think critically? Those are the questions being debated in the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional School District, where there are competing petitions over the re- quired reading lists for students. Some say the pas- sages are too sexually explicit for high school teens. Others say striking these books from required-read- ing lists is censorship. At the center of the discussion is the 1983 novel “Cal” by Bernard MacLaverty, described by USA To- day as “a love story as affecting and tragic as you could want,” and the Ariel Dorfman play “Death and SHOULD THESE BOOKS BE See BANNED, Page 4A SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA “ ‘Cal’ is not ‘Hamlet.’ There are other books about oppression. There comes a time when it’s time to make a better choice.” SIOBHAN FALLON HOGAN, THE MOTHER WHO DISCOVERED THE PASSAGES “You need challenging ideas. You need to be challenged. At what point does that start? High school? College? When?” NORM DANNEN, 2005 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN GRADUATE TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER “Cal” by Bernard MacLaverty and “Death and the Maiden” by Ariel Dorfman are the two books that some parents want removed from required-reading lists for students at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. FREEHOLD A former Marlboro camp counselor is seeking to avoid a criminal record when he is sen- tenced Friday for sending sexually explicit messages to children in the township’s summer recreation pro- gram. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the campers alleges that township officials permitted counselor Matthew J. Kleinstein to remain in his post for weeks after they discovered he sent lewd photo- graphs and messages to pre-adolescent girls. After the discovery, the 20-year-old was “trans- ferred to supervise younger children in the second and third grades,” according to the lawsuit. Kleinstein, who lives in Marlboro, admitted in the criminal case that he sent the materials to four girls around June 28, 2014, while he was working as a camp counselor for the Marlboro Township Recreation De- partment, said Charles Webster, a spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Kleinstein, however, applied for entry into the court’s pretrial intervention program, which would en- able him to avoid a criminal record if he is accepted and successfully completes the program, according to Webster. The ex-counselor is scheduled to be sentenced by Marlboro counselor faces sentence Fri. for sexting children KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP See SEXTING, Page 8A Greek Eats restaurant prepares to open in Shrewsbury. Your Money, 16A What’s Going There? Fast, casual & Mediterranean ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION APP.COM $1.00 THURSDAY 10.08.15 VOLUME 136 NUMBER 241 SINCE 1879 ADVICE 5D CLASSIFIED 1E COMICS 4D LOCAL 3A LUXURY LIVING 1D OBITUARIES 9A OPINION 17A SPORTS 1C WEATHER 10C YOUR MONEY 16A RUSSIA LAUNCHES CRUISE MISSILES TO AID SYRIAN GOVERNMENT PAGE 1B TRENTON State lawmakers are pushing a big tax cut — but you have to be a crowd-drawing, A-list enter- tainer and be willing to play a string of performances in Atlantic City to qualify. Under the plan, qualifying performers would be eli- gible for a 100 percent credit on any income taxes owed to the state if they play four shows in Atlantic City in a calendar year. That break would apply to income from any shows that year in New Jersey, such as at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden or the Prudential Center or MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The bill was approved by the Senate State Govern- ment, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee. Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean Jr., R-Union, said concerts create retail, restaurant and hospitality business far beyond what an entertainer is paid and AP Maroon 5 performs during a beach concert in Atlantic City in August that reportedly drew more than 50,000 people. Tax cut possible — for A-list entertainers Bill touted as incentive to lure acts to play A.C. MICHAEL SYMONS @MICHAELSYMONS_ Coming Sunday New Jersey has the highest average property tax in the nation. It rises $540 million a year each year. Who is profiting from your misery, and why can’t this tax be fixed? Read our exclu- sive investigation, starting Sunday. See A-LIST, Page 14A