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Yuma County library director asks board to end two school IGAs; board authorizes terminations
Summary
Yuma County approved the library director's request to terminate intergovernmental agreements with Hyder (Dateland) and Mohawk Valley elementary districts and to relinquish materials at those schools; the terminations are effective July 1, 2026, the district said.
Ashley Jones, director of the Yuma County Free Library District, told the Board of Supervisors on March 2 that the district will seek to terminate longstanding intergovernmental agreements with Hyder (Dateland) Elementary and Mohawk Valley Elementary and to leave the library materials currently housed at those schools in place under the schools' control.
Jones said the partnerships dated to the 1990s but have become outdated because schools now control access and the district no longer staffs the locations. "We're truly funding school libraries at this point," she said, adding that the library changed its operating model in 2022 to fund a school employee rather than place a library employee at the sites.
The move, Jones told the board, is intended to acknowledge that the collections serve primarily school populations and to avoid ongoing conflicts over supervision and reporting lines. She said the district would also pursue longer-term service options, including expanding the Foothills library or acquiring property for future facilities or a mobile unit; she said the project appears in the library's five-year plan and the district is "actively looking" for sites.
Supervisor (speaker 11) moved to authorize the library director to terminate the intergovernmental agreement with Hyder (Dateland) Elementary School District (IGA number 16) effective July 1, 2026; Committee member (speaker 5) seconded the motion. The board voted and the motion carried. A separate motion to terminate the IGA with Mohawk Valley Elementary School District, effective July 1, 2026, and a motion to authorize relinquishment of materials currently at Hyder/Dateland Elementary were also moved, seconded and carried.
The board did not provide a recorded roll-call tally in the meeting transcript beyond voiced 'aye' responses. Jones said the district had considered other service models and that the changes reflected security and access shifts within schools following COVID-era procedures. She also noted that land currently owned by the county adjacent to Foothills Park has Arizona Department of Transportation restrictions that staff is working through in planning an expansion of the Foothills branch.
Next steps: the board's authorizations direct the library director to execute termination of the listed IGAs effective July 1, 2026, and to coordinate transfer or relinquishment of materials with the affected school districts; the library will continue planning for new service options for the East County/Foothills area.
