Parents and Students' Pleas Could Not Save Stepney Librarian's Job

Passionate pleas from parents and students were not enough to spare Stepney Elementary School librarian Kathi Ducharme's job from a list of spending cuts approved by the Board of Education Monday night.

The Board of Education had to find $341,000 worth of cuts from its proposed 2011-12 budget following revisions made by the Board of Finance. Supt. of Schools Dr. Colleen Palmer presented the board with a list of potential cuts, but the $38,000 librarian position drew the most debate.

Palmer said the district plans to replace its librarians with media specialists, because the state requires teaching certificates for lessons to be taught. She said it is about getting the best academic programs for students.

"If they teach lessons, we will be in violation of state law," Palmer said of keeping the librarians, who do not have teaching certificates. "We have outstanding individuals, but there is no curriculum."

During the public comment portion of the Board of Education meeting Sue DeGeorge, whose daughter goes to Stepney, pleaded for board members to save Ducharme's job.

DeGeorge said Ducharme displays joy, excitement and engagement — "all of the things you want in a teacher."

"I just feel if Kathi is let go it will just be another example of politics played in this town," DeGeorge said, adding it would be at the expense of her daughter.

Annette Norton has two daughters at Stepney. "If we take the librarian out of the library, it's just a room full of books," she said.

Beth Forger said she has three children who benefited from Ducharme and lessons she initiated.

"I've seen her interact with the children and she knows all of their names," Forger said, adding with over 600 students, that is not an easy task.

Forger said Ducharme has a passion for children, books and reading. "If we're looking for a specialist, there really is no need to look any further because we have one," she said.

Amy Primorac said the board should not eliminate a librarian when there is no plan in place to add media specialists and expressed concern that a budget battle next year could make adding new positions difficult.

She believes the school district's goal is laudable, but warned against "cutting off their nose to spite their face" by letting qualified people go without a guarantee on replacements.

"If you do not know how to put the puzzle back together, please don't take it apart," Primorac said.

A few children gave testimonials of how Ducharme helped to inspire a love of reading in them.

Board Debate

Spending cuts proposed by the superintendent included:

• $130,000 from closing Chalk Hill School and turning the building over to the town. Palmer said a new place could be found for the alternative school with lower rent
• One custodian ($50,000)

• The librarian at Stepney ($38,000)
• Five paraprofessionals ($60,000)
• Increasing pay to play to $250 with a $1,000 family cap ($10,000) with an exception of hockey which pays about $30,000 for its ice time
• $16,000 for professional development
• $10,000 in instructional supplies
• $20,000 in library books
• $8,000 for conference registration for staff attending education workshops

Palmer said she hopes to reduce the paraprofessional positions and the custodian through attrition and retirements rather than layoffs.

Other areas of consideration included increasing pay to play to $300 per sport with a $1,200 family cap, recouping about $40,000.

"The one thing I do not want to see considered is raising the fee for sports," said Mark Antinozzi, a board member. "The original plan is far superior and I don't even want to discuss this."

Other potential savings were $15,000 for the assistant superintendent vacancy, $15,000 in stipends for department supervisor roles at Jockey Hollow Middle School and Masuk High School, and a $15,000 decrease in professional development training by hosting more sessions within the district.

Several parents applauded when board member, Kelly Plunkett, said she wanted to discuss Ducharme's position.

Antinozzi said there should be benchmarks and curriculum when children go to their school libraries.

"She's a wonderful person and it breaks my heart to have her go," he said of Ducharme. "But it's more than just handing out books."

Fellow board member Tom Taylor asked if the option existed for current librarians to become certified.

Palmer said it would be a "long journey" involving the Monroe Education Association, the teachers' union. "Right now no one is even close to being certified that I'm aware of," she said.

Antinozzi said the librarians should have seen the writing on the wall and tried to obtain their certification before it got to this point.

"This is not a swap. It's a reduction in force," Plunkett said.

Donna Lane, another board member, said it is not a reduction in staffing because Chalk Hill will close and it's media specialist would be added to the staffing of the three elementary schools.

Plunkett noted that a total of two librarians we're being cut in the budget process.

The board tried to go over past motions to see who was right, before getting confused.

Antinozzi said if the first selectman, Town Council and Board of Finance hadn't made cuts to the education spending proposal, the school board would not have to make the difficult decisions it was making Monday night. "That's the way the ball bounces," he said.

Board of Education Chairman Darrell Trump said $38,000 is "small potatoes" within the budget, adding they should be able to find the money to keep Ducharme.

"I think we can keep this," he said. "I think we can have our cake and eat it too."

Taylor said he could not vote "in good conscience" to keep the librarian at Stepney when the district still does not have a social worker.

"I would not vote for it either," said Mark Hughes, the board secretary. "We're taking things out and second guessing and just bowing down to public pressure and that's not right."

All of Palmer's recommendations were approved as is by a vote of 7-2, with Plunkett and George King voting no.

The parents who attended the meeting on Ducharme's behalf were visibly upset when they left the meeting and declined to comment on the vote.