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Board declines to add district media specialist amid debate over frozen federal grants and priorities
Summary
Board discussion of the district-approved positions list centered on a proposed district-level media specialist. Board members questioned the timing given temporary freezes on several federal grant streams; no motion to add the position secured a second, so the requested addition did not pass.
Board members debated additions to the district-approved positions list on July 8, focusing on a proposed district-level media specialist intended to centralize inventory and review of school library materials.
The media specialist was the sole change from the previously approved list that required action at the meeting; board members discussed the role’s scope, whether the position should be full-time at the district level or maintained through school-based media specialists, and the optics and cost amid recent federal grant freezes.
Board Member Chris (Mister Moore) and others questioned whether a full-time district position was appropriate for ongoing inventory maintenance once an initial audit or inventory had been completed. He suggested a short-term surge and then maintenance at the school level. Board Member Leonard said she was concerned about hiring when the district was facing frozen federal funds and estimated the freeze could affect between $3.8 million and $4.0 million in grant funds; staff later clarified the withheld funds affected several smaller grants (Title II, Title III, Title IV and a piece of Title I), not the district’s large Title I or IDEA allocations.
The board did not approve adding the media specialist position. There was no successful motion and second to add the position during the meeting; a motion to approve the full positions list including the media specialist failed when no motion/second was recorded, and a subsequent motion to approve the addition did not carry. Staff and board members agreed the district will continue prioritizing positions and address grant-funded vacancies and hiring under an administrative hiring-freeze policy for grant-funded openings until funding clarity is achieved.
Staff said the district has existing school-based media specialists and that the proposed district role would manage program review, inventory oversight and the process for responding to parental challenges. Board members asked staff to include clearer notations in future district position documents showing which lines are new, removed or modified.
