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Altamont library director urges board to keep librarian hours at Altamont Elementary
Summary
Jo Burke, director of the Altamont Free Library, urged the Guilderland board to reject a proposal that would reduce Altamont Elementary School librarian Anne Johnson's schedule from four days to three, saying that cut would reduce students' access to books and literacy support.
Jo Burke, director of the Altamont Free Library, told the Guilderland Central School District Board of Education on March 4 that a proposal to reduce the Altamont Elementary School librarian’s schedule from four days per week to three would be "a grave mistake." "The need for access to books and literacy instruction is greater at AES than at any other elementary school in the Guilderland Central School District," Burke said during the public-comment period.
Burke said Altamont Elementary School students depend on their librarian and the school library for book access and literacy instruction. She told the board that reducing the librarian’s hours would create "an unsupportable disparity of access" between Altamont and other schools. She pointed to recent circulation numbers and said, over the past six months, "Miss Johnson has checked out nearly 10,000 books to AES students," many of whom Burke said have limited access to books at home.
Burke contrasted Altamont’s projected 15 sections and 281 students with Lynnwood Elementary School’s projected 18 sections and 401 students under the proposed plan — a difference she said would result in Lynnwood retaining a full-time librarian while Altamont would not. "The fewer hours that the library door is open and students have access to their librarian, the fewer opportunities they will have to discover those books and to develop that love," Burke said.
The speaker acknowledged the district’s financial constraints but urged the board to reconsider the proposed reduction, arguing that modest short-term savings would carry a disproportionate cost to student literacy and outcomes. The administration later outlined that the proposal to reduce the Altamont librarian position was the equivalent of a 0.2 FTE change (from 0.8 to 0.6), part of several elementary staffing adjustments the district attributed to declining elementary enrollment.
Why this matters: the change would reduce in-school librarian access at Altamont Elementary School and, according to the public commenter, could widen disparities in book access and literacy instruction across district elementary schools. The board will consider budget revisions and additional details in upcoming meetings.
