District to hire cheaper librarians

PROVO — The Provo School District plans to phase out elementary school librarians having teacher certification and replace them with cheaper librarians with less education.

Assistant Superintendent Ray Morgan said that while there is a benefit to having a certified teacher during instruction, those qualifications are not needed in many aspects of a librarian's job.

Business administrator Kerry Smith estimates the switch will save the district about $250,000 a year.

The three-year switch began last year, when principals were told to step up efforts already in place to hire classified (non-teacher) employees when their librarians retired or resigned.

Some of the librarians at the district's 15 elementary schools and two middle schools already have made the switch to the classroom, Morgan said. Others may continue to work halftime in the library and halftime in the classroom.

By 2008, when new accounting rules require the district to have on-hand money to pay all of its promised retirement benefits, principals will receive half of the funding they used to receive to pay their librarians.

The certified librarians who remain will be given the option of going back into the classroom to teach, Morgan said.

Stephanie Fowers, a kindergarten classroom aide at Provost Elementary, is worried students will suffer.

"Our librarian, Mrs. Davis, is such a good librarian and it just breaks my heart to see her go, since I know exactly what will happen to the future of these children's lives without her," she said. "Aren't we trying to concentrate on literacy? Don't we care about the future of these children? Is saving a few measly dollars worth their education?"

Alpine School District switched to classified librarians about 15 years ago but does its own in-house training, said spokeswoman Jerrilynn Mortensen. Nebo School District also uses classified employees in its libraries.

"We feel like it is a sacrifice, and we don't want to disrespect our media people who've been doing a wonderful job in our elementary schools, but we have to direct our resources to where they make the biggest impact, and that is in the classroom," Morgan said.

Becky Lewis, librarian at Amelia Earhart Elementary for eight years, said she is heartbroken about the change and has not decided if she will become a full-time teacher.

She loves her job and can't imagine giving it up, she said.

"I look forward to coming to work. I look forward to putting kids and books together to make a perfect match to start a new reading career," she said. "I love to teach them to want to research and to love to learn facts. I'm having a tough time deciding where I'm going to go from here."

Edgemont Elementary Principal Dennis Pratt said his school has had a classified librarian since he took the job four years ago.

"We've been very, very pleased," he said, adding that there seems to be a perception classified employees are less qualified to run the library. "That's just not been our experience at all."