[ISLMA-Share] A Success Story

[Email list for the Illinois School Library Media Association]

Hallelujah, a win!!!
Well done!

On Mar 11, 2017, at 3:56 PM, Email list for the Illinois School Library Media Association <islma at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma at list.railslibraries.info>> wrote:

The Illinois School Library Media Association recently learned that the O’Fallon Township High School District 203 Board of Education proposed to cut the high school’s freshmen campus librarian, along with other teacher positions and programs. ISLMA immediately sent a letter of support for the library position to all board members. Unfortunately, at a special board meeting on February 28, 2017, the Board approved cuts based on the proposal presented at the February 16th board meeting. The only “positive” thing to come from this meeting was the reduction of the library position to .4 (with the other .6 to be spent in the classroom).  Because of huge community and student support, along with the letters of support from ISLMA and ALA/AASL, another emergency board meeting was held on March 2, 2017. I am excited to share that the freshman campus librarian position was reinstated to a full-time position, and just about everything that was cut was brought back. O’Fallon Township District 203 (like many IL school districts) still has a budget crisis, but we hope as they go forward in solving this issue, the district will see the huge impact that licensed school librarians have on ALL students. I know we will continue to have districts that try to cut the library positions, but I’m thrilled to share this success story with you. Advocacy efforts do work, especially when state and national organizations and the local community all work together for a common goal.

Patti Fleser
Library Media Specialist
Deer Path Middle School
Lake Forest, IL
847-604-7433
@DPM_Library

President, Illinois School Library Media Association
"...a library is more than a collection of dusty old books. It is a place to learn, explore, and grow!” Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library



________________________________
Any communication sent or received by District 67 and/or District 115 is a public record and may be subject to inspection or copying under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)



_______________________________________________
ISLMA-Share mailing list
islma at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma at list.railslibraries.info>
For list archives and subscription options, visit:
http://list.railslibraries.info/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/islma
To unsubscribe, send a message to:
islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info<mailto:islma-leave at list.railslibraries.info>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.railslibraries.info/pipermail/aisle/attachments/20170311/bc003e8e/attachment-0002.html>