Librarians in the Springfield Public School District asked the SPS Board at their meeting Tuesday night to reconsider proposed reductions in library staffing.
In an effort to reduce costs, SPS has proposed a list of positions that will be eliminated, both through attrition and cutting positions. Librarians will be reduced by 3.5 full-time equivalent or FTE. That means that the only high school that will have two full-time library media specialists starting next fall will be Kickapoo.
Tatiana Stout, a librarian at Hillcrest High School, asked the board to carefully reconsider the decision to cut library positions. She said libraries are vital to a student’s education.
"Many SPS kids have less support than they need. Schools, and especially libraries, make up for so much of that," she said. "Fully staffing each library with dedicated, trained, highly capable and committed librarians means that the hub of the school operates as it's intended to."
Sarah Gugliotta, one of two librarians at Central High School, reminded the board that each of the 10 librarians currently at SPS high schools is a certified teacher with a master’s degree, and, collectively, they hold 199 years of education experience. She shared just a few things they do on a daily basis.
"So here we go, buckle up," she told the board. "We collaborate with teachers to give daily instruction in all content areas. We teach empathy and understanding by adding works to our collection that highlight characters from unique and diverse backgrounds. We teach lessons on the research process, including topic selection, note taking, summarizing, plagiarism and citation styles along with academic honesty and integrity. We read multiple book reviews, state laws, curriculum guides and poll staff and students before purchasing any library materials."
She listed several more and ended with this one:
"We connect students with books they like so they'll love to read," she said.
Board member Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate, who described herself as a "fierce advocate for literacy," thanked the librarians who attended the meeting and all who support libraries. But she said the board is balancing "very tough conditions with regards to having to cut our budget."
She encouraged librarians to contact Missouri lawmakers and ask for more funding for public education.
The district is proposing the elimination of 142 positions, which is expected to result in $10.5 million in savings.
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