A Cause for Appeal

The following was included in an email from TXLA, and I thought very much worth sharing:

Dear School Librarians,

 

I’m hearing a very damaging  thread being discussed at the state level, and sadly this notion filters down to the local level. As you know, the budget shortfall will greatly affect school districts. One of the key areas being discussed as a “driver” for increased costs is the area of non-teaching staff.

 

The Context

District staff costs account for the overwhelming majority of expenditures (on the order of 85 to 90%) of all costs at districts statewide. Key state education legislators, chairs of the education committees in the House and Senate, warn that these costs must be examined and controlled in order to help bring school funding under control. They point to an exponential increase in non-teaching staff costs since 2006 and note that, if staffing returns to 2006 levels, much of the budget pressures on districts can be relieved.

 

The Fundamental Problem

Librarians are NOT included as teaching staff in these budget calculations. School librarians are considered support staff and, as such, are included in a broad category of staff that includes administrators, librarians, counselors, nurses, janitors, cafeteria workers, etc.  Many of the sympathetic comments you hear coming from legislative corners about the need to protect teacher jobs does not include you. I was recently with school librarians who assumed that when legislators expressed the need to save teacher jobs, they were talking about saving school librarian jobs, too. That is not the case.

 

We must raise an important point in this discussion of staffing. We must make policy makers – especially those whose actions and words have such a dramatic impact statewide—understand that school librarians are teachers AND that the level school librarian staffing has not kept pace with increases in student enrollment.  I’ll explore more of these numbers shortly. First, let me give you a sense of the theme we are hearing.

 

What is being said and proposed

Public House Education Chairman Rob Eissler was recently quoted in a story by  Shelly Koefler at KERA News.  From the story: " ‘The ingredient to school cost is staffing.  Between 85 and 90 percent of a school budget is staffing,’" Eissler said. He further says, "‘Right now we have as many non-teachers employed by our schools as teachers.  I think it’s about 620,000 maybe 650,000 and half aren’t teachers.’” The story continues, “Eissler says if you reduce the number of counselors, librarians, administrators and other non-teaching staff to where it was in 2006 you could save $3 billion in the next budget.  That’s more than half the funding schools are expected to lose.” 

 

This sentiment was again expressed at the Senate Finance hearing on the Texas Education Agency budget, as lawmakers pointed to the cost of “non-teaching staff.” While I believe that legislators generally value school librarians and their contributions, this appreciation has not materialized in actionable support that, at a minimum, would shape staffing discussions with more precision and clarity as it relates to the role of school librarians.

 

The Numbers

In looking at the number of certified school librarians in Texas, we find an increase of 155 librarians statewide over the last few years. This data, from TEA figures, report that the number of FTE librarians in 2006-2007 was 4,981.76. The number in 2009-10 was 5,136.63. This increase of 155 librarians is only a 3% increase from 2006 levels. During this same period, student enrollment increased by about 5%. A grand total of 155 more school librarians – not considering all the recent job cuts – are NOT breaking the educational system.

 

According to the Legislative Budget Board’s 2011 Report on Texas State Government Effectiveness and Efficiency, for school year 2008–09, only 60 % of campuses reported a full-time librarian on staff. The report states:

 

The primary challenges school librarians face in implementing a quality school library program are inadequate resources and funding—including below standard staffing levels and limited collection size—and a lack of recognition of the school librarian’s importance in the school environment.

 

The report also notes that “increases in school counselor staffing and school nurse staffing kept pace with student enrollment growth from school years 2004-05 to 2008-09, while increases in school librarian staffing did not.”

 

What we must do

Let me say again, 155 more school librarians – not considering all the recent job cuts – are NOT breaking the educational system. It is imperative that we let lawmakers understand that:

 

·        School librarians are teachers.

·        School librarians teach students.

·        School librarian staffing levels have not kept pace with student enrollment.

·        School librarians believe in accountability and are essential in delivering a rigorous 21st century workforce ready education.

·       School librarian positions are being cut across the state.

·       These cuts will adversely affect student success.

·       Generalizing about non-teaching staff is not prudent.

 

We need school librarians to contact their elected officials and ask them to contact the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees to let them know that school librarians are teachers. Please understand, we need to be calm and reasoned in our communications. We need to present the facts and the case for the role of librarians.

 

It is especially important to urge your PTA members, teachers, and administrators to deliver this message as well. TLA will continue delivering this message, but we need school library supporters from across the state to get this message across.

 

Gloria Meraz

Director of Communications

Texas Library Association