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Kyrene teacher-librarian tells board district will remove certified librarians from elementary libraries
Summary
At the Feb. 25 Kyrene Governing Board meeting a teacher-librarian said elementary libraries will no longer be staffed by certified teaching librarians for 2025–26 and that library staff were offered classroom positions; the board did not debate the change during the public comment period and the superintendent agreed to follow up.
At the Feb. 25 Kyrene Governing Board meeting, teacher-librarian Katie (Catherine) Formisano told the board that, beginning in the 2025–26 school year, elementary libraries in the district will no longer be staffed by certified teaching librarians and that affected librarians had been offered full-time classroom positions.
Formisano, a teacher librarian at Kyrene Traditional Academy, said the staffing change had been communicated to librarians several weeks earlier and that she and other staff see the move as harmful to students. “I think this is a terrible decision. I believe this is not in the best interest of students, and I think Kyrene leadership should reconsider this,” she said during the public-comment period.
The public-comment rules the board cited at the start of the slot (board policy 1302) limit board responses to non-agenda items; President Kevin Walsh noted the board could not discuss non-agenda items in the meeting. Superintendent Laura Tenas agreed to follow up directly with Formisano after the meeting.
Why this matters: Library staffing affects instructional time, literacy supports and access to licensed information specialists across elementary schools. Formisano framed the change as a district staffing decision driven in part by broader funding pressures; she urged parents, teachers and community members to raise concerns publicly.
What was said and what’s next: Formisano said the staffing notice is public record but that she had trouble locating the document online. She asked the community to use its voice and emphasized the broader context of state-level school funding: “This is a state budget issue. Our vote and our voice matter,” she said. The board took no formal action on the comment during the meeting; Superintendent Tenas committed to follow up with Formisano directly after the meeting.
Context and limits: Board members reminded the public that under state law the board cannot deliberate on non-agendized matters during the meeting. The district’s public-comment procedure and the board’s pledge to forward concerns to staff were described on the record.
Ending note: The staffing change described by Formisano was raised only during public comment; no staffing vote or formal policy change was taken at the Feb. 25 meeting. The superintendent’s follow-up with the speaker was recorded on the meeting record.
