School libraries are undergoing a transformation in the Las Virgenes (CA) Unified School District.
Six teacher-librarian jobs have metamorphosed into three media specialist jobs for next year, in part to save money due to state budget cuts.
Dan Stepenosky, LVUSD assistant superintendent of personnel, said the positions were based upon “a hybrid of skills and services that were previously performed by the technology teachers on special assignment and school librarians.”
Kelly Benning, Mary Ann Hamre and Barbara Folkeson were chosen to fill the media specialist spots. Benning has been a librarian at A.C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas, and Folkeson has worked as a traveling elementary school librarian. Hamre worked as a district technology teacher.
School Librarians Cut
Seems like Dan Stepenosky, LVUSD assistant superintendent of personnel and Mary Schillinger, assistant superintendent of education, should be dropped as well to save money.
However, this rtrend is increasing- getting school librairans away from the students and as media specialist advisors for teachers. This is not unexpected. This trend has been in the works ever since the mid-1970s when school libraries became “media centers” and everyone did their dammedest to get away from the terms “library” and “librarian”.
Sigh. For far too long school librarians have been removed further and further from student contact and teaching, and become administratos of media resources. Now that budgets are cut, we will see more and more school teachers and their positions cut.
R. Lee Hadden (These are my own opinions!)