Germantown resident urges city plan for library funding if federal support ends

Kathy Bostra, a retired teacher and principal who lives in Germantown, told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on March 24 that she is “a voice for the voiceless,” and asked what plans the city has to replace federal funding for public and school libraries if those funds disappear.

Bostra cited a March 14 executive order from President Trump that she said would “dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services,” and noted that, she said, the Tennessee State Library and Archives reports Tennessee ranks 40th in the nation in total operating expenditures per capita for public libraries. “What are the plans for our city to fill the financial gap when federal funds are no longer available to provide our libraries with the necessary tools to promote literacy, education, and lifelong learning,” she asked.

Bostra identified herself to the board as a resident of 7120 Corsica Drive and described her 46 years in education. She listed services that federal grants support, including statewide initiatives and competitive grants under the Museum and Library Services Act of 2010, preschool literacy programs, computer and internet access upgrades, training and recruitment of librarians, and services for people with disabilities and older residents.

Mayor (speaking from the dais during the meeting) thanked Bostra for her remarks and invited her to meet after the session with the mayor and the city administrator to continue the dialogue. The record of the March 24 meeting does not include a formal city plan or policy response to Bostra’s question.

The city clerk confirmed Bostra had submitted a request to speak and that Bostra’s concerns were raised during the Citizens to Be Heard segment of the meeting. No board member announced a specific follow-up item, budget action, or motion at the meeting to address potential loss of federal library funding.

Without a formal directive or staff report on the record, the board’s next steps and any potential budgetary response remain unspecified. City officials offered a postmeeting conversation; the transcript contains no further commitments or timelines.