After surviving another appeal, a controversial children's book about Cuba will stay on a public school library's shelves -- at least until another appeal is heard in coming weeks.

BY MATTHEW I. PINZUR

A controversial children's book about Cuba will stay on the shelves at a Miami-Dade school library following a committee's decision to reject a complaint filed by a parent.

The committee of administrators and parents at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary in West Dade decided late Friday to reject a father's request to remove Vamos A Cuba (subtitled A Visit to Cuba).

The committee voted by secret ballot, but minutes from their meeting on April 17 show the book was kept by a 7-1 vote. Those minutes make no mention of any substantive discussion over the book's merits or faults.

The father, Juan Amador Rodriguez, immediately filed a new appeal to Superintendent Rudy Crew. Crew referred the appeal to a 16-member panel of administrators and others, though he had the authority to unilaterally reject the appeal.

The panel's recommendation must come within 15 days. Crew can either accept or reject the panel's ruling; his decision can be appealed to the Miami-Dade School Board.

Board member Frank Bolaños tried to circumvent the appeals process and immediately remove the book, but he was rebuffed by a 6-3 vote last week. Some in the majority, however, indicated they were voting to show support for the established procedures rather than for the book itself -- a second vote could come out differently.

The five-year-old book has drawn attention this month for its rosy depiction of Cuba under Fidel Castro.

In one oft-cited passage, author Alta Schreier writes: ``The people of Cuba eat, work and study like you.''

''Nothing could be further from the truth,'' Bolaños wrote in his bill, citing food rations, proscribed employment and forced school chants about Castro's greatness.

Librarians and civil-liberties groups have opposed removing the book, citing the freedom of information that is supposed to thrive in school libraries.

A landmark Supreme Court case bars public schools from removing books that are considered politically objectionable, but opponents have argued Vamos A Cuba is factually inaccurate and therefore subject to removal.

The schools own a total of 49 copies of the book, and Miami-Dade's public libraries have about 20 more, district officials said. Another 160 copies can be found in other Florida districts' school libraries.