Funding Tide Has Turned for California School Libraries

Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/1/1998

Things are looking up for the California's beleaguered school libraries. The state's legislature last month allocated a whopping $158.5 million for library materials and equipment. Legislators also gave school libraries their own budget line to insure future state funds.

The new money means that California's per pupil allocation could jump to $27 from $2.64 in grades 4 to 6 and from a paltry $.96 in grades 7 to 12. In a state that has ranked at the bottom of the country in both number of media specialists and collection size, the funding influx is "historic," said Barbara Jeffus, school library consultant for the California Department of Education.

With a budget surplus generated by the strong California economy, this was the year for libraries to make their case. In addition to ongoing advocacy by state Superintendent of Instruction Delaine Eastin, Jeffus credits a strong grassroots campaign that raised legislators' awareness without making school librarians sound "whiny," she said.