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Parents, students and staff urge district to restore librarians and defend Evergreen dual-language program
Summary
Public commenters at the Shelton School Board meeting called attention to recent librarian layoffs and contested a petition about Evergreen Elementary's dual-language program, with parents and a teacher describing student learning gains and asking the board to rely on data and truthful representation.
A student and multiple community members told the Shelton School Board that recent budget-driven staffing decisions have removed librarians and stirred concern about program messaging at Evergreen Elementary.
Student Eliza Lommel told the board she has not returned to the school library since her librarian was laid off: "But to give kids access to the library, we need librarians." Her father, Dave Lommel, said the loss affected his daughter daily and that classroom teachers cannot fully replace a librarian's role.
Paula Kennedy, who identified herself from Evergreen Elementary, raised concerns about a petition circulated at a school family engagement event asking for signatures to support the dual-language program. Kennedy said petition canvassers represented the petition inaccurately to families and that statements circulating about program reductions did not reflect district practice. She pointed to improved English language arts scores at Evergreen as evidence of program strength and growth, saying, "Our programs are not being reduced, they are growing stronger every year." Kennedy described classroom visits where she observed student bilingual presentations and cited gains in spring test benchmarks.
Public commenter Marilyn Aaron highlighted wide staff turnover and called for accountability, telling the board: "That's 136 staff members gone. Let's let that sink in for a moment." The board acknowledged the public comments and said it would continue work to address budget-driven staffing decisions and to prioritize student supports while balancing fiscal constraints.
These public remarks occurred during the regular public comment portion of the meeting; no formal board action on the librarians or the petition was recorded during this session.
