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Residents and trustees press Palo Alto Unified to restore sustainability manager and full-time elementary librarians
Summary
During public comment and board discussion at the March 25 budget workshop, students and community members urged the district to reinstate a sustainability manager and make elementary teacher-librarians full-time; trustees asked staff to verify past sustainability savings and to include librarian changes as a budget assumption for June.
Multiple public commenters and several trustees used the March 25 budget study session to press the district to restore a dedicated sustainability manager position and to make elementary teacher-librarian positions full-time.
A student who identified themself as Arroa and said they are a sophomore at P and a member of the student Climate Coalition urged the board to reinstate “a full-time staff person dedicated to sustainability,” arguing students need a clear point of contact and faster responses from facilities staff.
Rachel Gibson, who said she has served on the district sustainable schools committee, urged hiring at the manager level and told trustees the previous sustainability manager had produced recurring savings. “The previous sustainability manager achieved Savings of nearly $700,000 per year,” Gibson said, and argued that those savings more than justify restoring the position at the manager level to implement the sustainability master plan and secure grants.
Several other community speakers echoed the call. Joselyn Levy, a PTA volunteer, said a technician lacks the authority and cross-departmental standing of a manager and argued a manager is needed to ensure implementation of a sustainability policy and to work with city and county partners. Meb Steiner, representing CSEA, and Terry Baldwin, president of the Palo Alto Educators Association, also voiced support for greater investment in people — including full-time librarians and other classified positions — as a strategy for improving programs and retaining staff.
Trustees acknowledged strong public support but debated sequencing and evidence. Some trustees favored placing a placeholder assumption for a sustainability manager in next year’s budget but asked the newly formed sustainability committee to develop a master plan and to verify historical savings before a firm hire. One trustee summarized the board’s view: include the position in the budget assumptions now, but have the committee quantify the scope and potential savings and report back before final adoption.
On librarians, multiple trustees framed full-time elementary librarians as a student-support and mental-health resource. Trustee Seol said having an 80% librarian position effectively closes the library one day a week and removes a trusted adult from campus that students turn to for belonging and respite; several trustees indicated support for moving to full-time positions and asked staff for a clear cost–benefit breakdown to return in June.
Board and staff agreed to return with documentation of prior sustainability grants and savings, a librarian FTE and cost breakdown, TK waitlist numbers and other historical data to support a final decision. No personnel hires or commitments were approved at the meeting; trustees characterized the discussion as direction-setting for the June budget process.
