New Orleans school librarians got good news in their funding plight September 14 when the Orleans Parish school board created a line item in the 1998–99 budget giving $5 per student for library materials.
McMain Magnet School Librarian Ellen Pecoul said that, along with $2.70 from off-shore oil lease revenues, makes the total $7.70, which, although still well below the national average of $26, is more than she's ever seen in her 20-year career.
Pecoul said board members were supportive, leading the librarians to hope for other improvements, such as receiving local millage funds that they haven't gotten for seven years. "We feel that we are working toward a common goal," she said. "We know the district is cash-poor but in the quest for improving student achievement, we are partners in those goals with the board and the administration."
Posted September 21, 1998.