Contra Costa to Fold School Libraries
CA school district will save $2 million by laying off media specialists, shutting libraries
By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 5/1/2004
When 35,000 students in California's West Contra Costa Unified School District return to school next fall, there won't be a single media specialist in sight. That's because the school board decided March 8 to close the district's K–12 school libraries and lay off all 36 media specialists and their assistants in order to save $2 million in FY 2004–2005.
School district superintendent Gloria Johnston says there was no other choice than to take such drastic measures: the unions representing teachers and their assistants refused to negotiate a contract clause mandating a certified media specialist and a library assistant in every middle school and high school, so the only other option was to let everyone go.
"The result was all or nothing," says Johnston, adding that the decision was a great blow, particularly in light of a huge districtwide literacy initiative over the last three years that has resulted in improved student reading scores.
"To close school libraries now is devastating, especially as we're trying to close the achievement gap and raise reading skills for everyone," says Johnston. She hopes the closures won't have an effect on student achievement, since students from low-income families might not have computers at home or transportation to the public library.
School librarians weren't the only ones on the chopping block. The school board also eliminated sports instructors, guidance counselors, elementary school music teachers, custodians, and groundskeepers, as well as 10 principals and 12 assistant principals, saving a total of $16.8 million and balancing the school district's $240 million budget. Since the March 8 decision, the district has received $384,000 in donations specifically for school libraries, including a $350,000 gift from the San Francisco Foundation on behalf of an anonymous donor.
The situation, however, isn't completely hopeless—school libraries can stay open if voters approve a parcel tax on a special June 8 ballot. But no one is holding their breath, since voters already rejected a parcel tax when it was put to a vote March 2 (see "Voters Decide the Fate of Libraries ," April 2004, p. 19).
Unfortunately, if the parcel tax is rejected, "all of the books in the libraries will just gather dust on the shelves because the unions will not allow us to use teachers or volunteers in the library," Johnston says. Only trained library staff know how to operate the library's automated catalog and databases.
If the libraries close next fall, the school board will have to vote on how to spend the $384,000 in donations.
