Cooper Siegel board asks Fox Chapel for recurring subsidy; trustees and residents press for municipal partnership

Representatives from Cooper Siegel Community Library and the library’s board appealed to the Fox Chapel Area School District board for regular, modest annual funding to sustain library operations. Library officials and local residents described services for district students, summer reading programs, classroom partnerships, student volunteer opportunities and targeted supports provided at the Sharpsburg branch.

Speakers included Jill McConnell (executive director, Cooper Siegel Community Library), Dave Bennett (Community Library Association treasurer and O’Hara resident) and Heidi Breyer (library board member and Sharpsburg resident). They described circulation and participation statistics, summer and after‑school programs that serve Kerr Elementary and other district students, and the financial strain the libraries face under current municipal funding and regional resource allocation.

The library requested a regular municipal-style subsidy equivalent to 0.1 mill (about $370,000 annually, as the presenters and board staff calculated) to keep library operations sustainable. Board members discussed several options and concerns:

- Several directors said the district mission aligns with the library’s educational role but questioned whether the school district is the appropriate long-term funding source for municipal library operations. Members urged coordination with the six municipalities in the school district to identify a sustainable municipal funding solution and discussed options such as municipal contributions or a referendum/ballot measure run by local governments. - Some board members signaled support for finding a smaller, short-term contribution or for identifying other pathways (municipal subsidy, ballot measures or targeted district support tied to specific programming). Others said adding a recurring $370,000 subsidy would be a significant long-term commitment outside the district’s core education mission and could constrain funding for mandated services given the district’s current budget pressures. - The board suggested that the library present to committees (Academic or Committee of the Whole) on budget priorities; administration offered to include the library item in upcoming Committee of the Whole budget discussions and to route the topic for committee review.

Ending: No board vote was held on a subsidy request. Board members encouraged intergovernmental discussion; several members said they would contact municipal officials and suggested the library pursue sustained municipal funding, or a structured referendum, rather than rely on the district’s operating levy.