Newstrack: Jefferson’s cut librarian to keep cataloging for Jefferson, Kennedy highs

BACKGROUND

In an effort to trim more than $2.3 million from the budget, Cedar Rapids Community School District officials tasked school principals at Kennedy, Jefferson and Washington high schools with cutting four teaching positions each earlier this year.

In April, school principals at Jefferson and Kennedy highs fulfilled that mandate - which the district said was necessary due to low state funding and falling enrollment numbers - by eliminating their schools' librarians. Washington High trimmed four classroom teachers.

Kennedy's librarian Wendy Ziegler already had announced her retirement. Becky Johnson, Jefferson's librarian, was to be considered for open positions in the district.

In response, local students and librarians from across Iowa packed the school board's next meeting. Some speakers asked the board to reconsider the librarian cuts, highlighting the positive effects a professional librarian has on a school's literacy rates.

Speakers also decried the state legislature for failing to adequately fund kindergarten-through-12 education.

In later interviews, Jefferson Principal Chuck McDonnell and Kennedy Principal Jason Kline said they could not at the time offer complete details as to how their libraries would operate without a librarian.

Media secretaries likely would carry out day-to-day operations, Kline said, such as checking materials in and out. Ordering and cataloging those materials, though, would not be done by the secretaries, who are not required to be trained beyond a high-school degree.

WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE

During Johnson's last weeks as Jefferson High's librarian, she regularly brought in end-of-the-year treats - including lemon Oreos, lemon bars and lemon cupcakes. It was anything but subtle. By the last day of school, June 2, Johnson poured lemonade into dozens of paper cups for students.

'If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” a sign behind cups read. 'I did.”

Since the debacle over her position's elimination, Johnson has learned the district is placing her in Wilson Middle as a full-time teacher-librarian.

'We (Johnson and staff at Wilson) are excited to see what we can do to put together a program there without looking back and feeling bad or sorry - even though that is inside my heart,” Johnson said.

But she won't leave her library of 16 years completely. The district still will have Johnson catalog and order books for Jefferson's library, as well as at Kennedy's library.

Media secretaries will maintain the libraries' hours and accessibility next year, McDonnell and Kline both said.

Every month, Johnson will spend a half-day at each of those libraries, as well as work on tasks related to the high school libraries during her free time at Wilson.

'It's essentially putting me in the position of three people,” she said.

McDonnell said in an email that Johnson will serve as something of a library consultant, communicating with staff in the high school libraries regularly as well as maintaining their digital resources.

But Johnson said she worries her allotted time at the high schools will be restrictive.

'You just can't go above and beyond like you usually do,” she said. 'And that's hard.”

Loosening her hold on Jefferson's library will be especially difficult, she said. But come autumn she said she'll prioritize Wilson, not wanting to 'reward the school district for the decision they made.”.

'I'm not going to see students and teachers at Wilson suffer because the principals at Jefferson and Kennedy decided their libraries don't need professional librarians,” she said.