Parents, teachers and students urge board to restore library services and support-staff hours after cuts

Dozens of parents, teachers, students and union leaders urged the Washington Township Board of Education on June 10 to reverse recent staffing changes that cut hours and health benefits for hourly support employees and reduce library services at several elementary schools.

Speakers described classroom-by-classroom impacts, safety concerns around arrivals and dismissals, and the loss of weekly library access for elementary students. Several Whitman Elementary students and staff urged the board to keep their librarian at the school full time.

Why it matters: District administrators say the changes respond to state certification guidance and budget constraints, but teachers and parents say the cuts will lower program quality and may push some students into out‑of‑district placements — a more costly outcome that could increase special‑education spending.

School staff and parents described multiple, concrete effects. Courtney Stumpf, an art teacher at Whitman Elementary, said library assistants were already cut and librarians have been asked this year to teach “media studies,” combining library and basic computer instruction on top of library duties. Students and teachers said one librarian serving two elementary buildings would mean each school gets library instruction only half the year. “How can one person effectively…