School libraries axed at cash-starved districts
At Natomas Unified School District, the school library has become a luxury that can't be afforded.
Library staff at eight elementary schools were laid off last week as district officials cordoned off their rooms with locks and chains, according to Sacramento Bee.
Flickr photo by bigteetoeNatomas officials told the Bee the move could save up $1.5 million in salary and benefits. The district, which is grappling with a budget shortfall of $17.3 million, hopes to reopen the libraries when the budget improves, according to the Bee.
According to Heidi Van Zant, Natomas district spokeswoman:
"These kinds of cuts are a last resort. No one wants to close elementary school libraries, but our budget situation is so severe there was no choice."
The closed libraries mirror a larger trend of media centers falling from their once-valued purch in the education eco-system. Last month, Elk Grove Unified issued final layoff notices to about 57 library staffers. Folson Cordova Unified shuttered its libraries last summer but reopened them with reduced hours after extracting salary concessions from the teachers'