Las VegasArea School Librarians Likely Safe for Now
The elimination of 105 middle and high school librarian positions has been proposed as part of the solution to a $120-million shortfall at Clark County (Nev.) School District, but following two heated public meetings, it appears likely that other areas of school funding will be cut to balance the budget.
Much of the 14.1% budget cut, which was caused by reductions in state funding, has been planned: $32 million will be saved with a 12% cut to the school district’s central office budget, the ending fund balance will be reduced by $22 million, and each local school budget will be cut by 3.5%, saving $57 million. The remaining $9 million will be saved by cuts to districtwide programs. The district has circulated a list proposing 23 programs that could get the axe, with the elimination of librarian positions as one of the possibilities.
Eliminating those jobs would save $9.5 million. However, the district conducted a survey of parents about which programs they would prefer to keep and which to cut, and libraries were not among the top 5 on either list. The top 5 programs identified to cut were: off-ratio administrative staffing, empowerment schools, early retirement incentives, region offices/professional services, and prep periods for high school department chairs, which would total $10.265 million in savings if all were eliminated. The top five programs identified as must-keep were: athletic programs, extra-curricular programs, special education facilitators, custodial services, and the prevention of increased class size for grades 1 through 3.
“We’re taking action based on public input,” Communications Director Cynthia Sell told American Libraries, indicating that librarian positions will likely be safe when the school board finalizes its decision in December unless other feedback—including comments from 1,350 attendees of two town hall budget meetings held November 18 and 19 and “hundreds” of e-mailed feedback and face-to-face discussions—suggest a major shift is needed.
Sell noted, however, that the governor has warned that more cuts, ranging from an additional 4% to 11%, will be coming in December, although she said that nothing has been confirmed. “If that is the case, there may be a special session of the legislature” to sort out funding issues, she indicated.
Posted on November 21, 2008. Discuss.