By Pete Knotek, REA Vice-President

I write to address the recent elimination of 7 elementary school librarian positions in the RUSD.  The REA takes the position that these cuts negatively affect students throughout the school district and will undermine the quality of public education in our community for years to come.   More specifically:

1.  The cuts are contrary to District student achievement objectives in that they deprive the District’s elementary age students of 50% or more of contact time with a professional librarian.  As a consequence, education in information literacy and research skills necessary to meet state standards and to promote students’ success in middle, high school, and post-secondary education has been minimized or altogether eliminated.  Further, students’ access to literature and trade publications has been greatly reduced.

2.  The cuts are inconsistent with research cited by the International Reading Association showing a correlation between increased reading test scores and experiences with professional staff in school libraries.

3.  The cuts have resulted in reductions of planning time for classroom teachers, which adversely affects teachers’ ability to prepare lessons that advance student achievement and engagement objectives.

4.  The cuts have deprived teaching staff of the support of a professional librarian in coordinating materials and resources with curriculum so as to engage students and enrich learning experiences.

5.  The cuts have created undue stress in the workplace for remaining librarians forced to share time between schools, thus interfering with the ability of librarians to deliver consistent high quality educational experiences to students.

The elimination of elementary school librarian positions is part of a larger troubling decision making process.  Recent District Budget Office mandates have been imposed on kids, teachers, and educational assistants with no apparent professional consideration of the value of the educational program being impacted nor planning for the potential problems caused by these ill-timed cuts.  The REA deplores this recent approach to budget and finance in the district.  Budget planning and implementation must be driven by student needs rather than disconnected, bottom-line declarations from the District Budget Office.

The REA looks forward to the opportunity to communicate and work toward building and implementing District budgets based on careful, professional assessment of student needs and priorities.  A well reasoned approach to budget and finance can move us toward our goal of academically preparing students for personal success in life, for their chosen careers, and for being positive, contributing members of the global community.