Parents and teachers urge board to protect library/media specialists and consider retention impacts amid cuts

Several parents, teachers and community members addressed the board during the public forum, urging caution on proposed staffing cuts and urging greater attention to student retention.

Teachers and library staff said licensed media specialists provide instruction in media literacy, digital citizenship and device management — work that cannot be fully replaced by reassigning chores to assistants or technology staff. One commenter cited large-scale research associating strong library programs with higher reading and achievement scores; another described how media staff now fill roles left by eliminated tech coaches.

Parents urged the board to consider retention and behavior-policy consistency as budget factors: when families experience inconsistent discipline or lack of clear communication about supports, they are more likely to leave the district, reducing state aid tied to enrollment. Commenters asked the board to require a short retention-impact statement for future reductions and to communicate program availability and limits clearly to families.

Board members listened and some asked administration to convene meetings with media staff to explore alternatives; a motion to postpone three specific media-staffing reductions for a month failed, leaving the items in the adopted package subject to administrative implementation steps.