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School Library Journal: Humble, TX, School librarians may be axed
It looks like more school librarians are in danger of losing their jobs. Facing a $23 million budget deficit in the upcoming school year, the Humble Independent School District in Texas says it will have to make cuts—including the elimination of all 39 librarians.
“We are finding our backs against the wall,” district spokeswoman Karen Collier told KRPC, the local NBC affiliate. “It’s going to be a matter of cutting people and cutting programs.”
In recent years, the district has had to cut about $17 million, but much of that was done with minimal impact on classrooms. “This year that will not be what we can do," Collier says.
Some options include cutting 15 administrative positions, which would save more than $1 million. Another possibility is to eliminate all middle school instructional coaches at a savings of nearly $824,000. Getting rid of all 39 librarians would save more than $2 million, KRPC reports.
The district needs to cut about $9 million to $10 million from the budget, and cuts are expected by the end of the month. If a proposed tax increase doesn’t pass, the cuts could be deeper and the results of that could be seen early next year.
The district serves almost all of the city of Humble, small portions of Houston, and parts of unincorporated Harris County, including Atascocita. – School Library Journal, 6/5/2008
See the story in School Library Journal
Other News
School Library Crisis in Mesa, Arizona
New York State - Old Materials Crisis
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Albany, New York ( March 28, 2008)– According to a recent study funded by the New York Library Association (NYLA), the average age of books in New York state’s school libraries is over 20 years old. NYLA is currently pushing an increase in the funding level for school libraries to $10 per pupil from the current $6.25, a level recommended by the state Board of Regents. The library at Harmony Hill Elementary School in Cohoes, for example, has a collection that dates, on average, from 1987. “The average age of our public school libraries is unacceptable,” said NYLA President Michael Borges, “The problem is state aid has not kept up with the growing costs of school books.” Recent studies have shown there is a direct correlation between testing scores and the strength of school library programs. - From the Albany Times Union
The "Spokane Moms" and the Funding Crisis in Washington State School Libraries
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