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Director: state aid can temporarily cover community resource post; board weighs tradeoffs
Summary
Library director said the state librarian approved using state aid for a paraprofessional/community resource role; board members questioned sustainability and whether book and program budgets would be sacrificed to fund personnel.
Library Director Blair told the board the state librarian had approved the use of state aid to fund a paraprofessional community resource position, but several trustees said the move would force reductions in other accounts such as training, small capital and parts of the books/materials allocation.
"I got express permission from the state librarian to be able to use state aid for this paraprofessional service," Blair said. She described reallocations that produced roughly $39,000 in a professional line to cover the position short-term, including cuts to schools training and dues and reductions in small capital. Board members asked what would be sacrificed and emphasized they wanted a clear list of tradeoffs before approving use of state aid.
Trustees also discussed the unpredictability of state aid. Blair warned that state aid is a yearly proviso and not a guaranteed revenue source. The board directed staff to assemble a line-by-line breakdown of what the library would forgo to keep the position on the payroll for up to a year while staff seek grant or county support.
