Public, students steamed by impact of librarian cuts at Grossmont Union schools

The Grossmont Union High School District board majority voted in favor of letting teachers teach outside of their subject expertise in its first meeting of the school year.

District trustees also approved a new job description for an educational technology coordinator. 

Some members of the public, though, decried these motions as only necessary due to the district eliminating the roles of teacher librarians, along with staff turnover. One parent in a banana costume with a sign reading “this board is bananas” suggested the district tech coordinator would not be as helpful as the librarians once present at each school were. 

“I agree with Ms. Banana over there,” said trustee Chris Fite. He was the lone no vote during this year’s layoff decisions and said Thursday’s actions seemed to be solutions to problems the board majority created. 

Teacher librarians, who hold a bachelors degree, California teaching credential and teacher librarian services credential, have jobs that include more than just checking out books. They teach digital literacy, research skills and how to identify misinformation, in addition to managing the library.

In hot mic comments last year, trustee Robert Shield said librarians are overpaid compared to teachers and do not work as hard. 

The board claimed replacing librarians with uncredentialed library techs would save money. 

Shield and the others who approved the layoffs have been hearing an earful ever since, with some targeted for recall.

James Messina, president of the teacher’s union, Grossmont Education Association (GEA), noted June’s budget adoption did not have a deficit, the reason the board gave for Reductions In Force (RIF). 

He pointed out that revenue was higher and costs lower than anticipated in the preliminary 2024-2025 budget. Along with several other speakers, he urged the board to reinstate the nine teacher librarian jobs slashed from the 2025-2026 budget. 

“Everything we did last year is for nothing, as we have an extra $10 million,” Messina said. “Please note that the increased ending balance was not from the employee eliminations, because all the employees who were RIFed have been reinstated in the district in different positions, so there is no cost savings whatsoever.”

One former librarian confirmed he now teaches geography. 

Library services impacted

In public comments, a senior student complained about new freshmen and sophomores trying to receive help with their Chromebooks only to find the library, with its tech help desk, closed multiple days in a row. 

“Your policies don’t work,” the student said. 

On social media, photos have circulated, purportedly of students trying to eat lunch in the library, but being locked out. 

Another student, West Hills High School senior Lillian Zehnder, said in public comments that clubs were scrambling to find new locations for meetings and academic league games. 

“I’m begging you to give us our libraries back, not just for me, not just for this year, but for the thousands of students who will come after because this is not just a budget cut. This is a downfall of my school and my district,” Zehnder said. 

Another GEA board member, Rebecca Short, addressed new superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte directly in public comments after Vital Brulte asked to be given a chance as she meets with staff and students. 

“Our library is closed at lunch. Our librarians are gone. The tech support is not enough. Our counselors caseloads are too high. Our class sizes are up, our pay is down and curriculum support is absent,” Short said. “Overall, your educators feel attacked, underappreciated and tired.”

She told Vital Brulte building trust required wrongs to be righted. 

In her own board report, Vital Brulte addressed the skepticism she has encountered as the latest in a series of district leaders. “My response has been that while I hope everyone will come and take my word seriously, it will be my actions and follow through that truly demonstrate that. So I encourage you to pay close attention and see what I deliver,” the former Orange County-based superintendent said. 

Recall efforts

The board did not respond to much of the criticism leveled against them. Trustee Jim Kelly, present by phone, questioned the Recall Scott Eckert effort. 

Organizers from La Mesa, trustee Scott Eckert’s area, were among those in the audience who made public comments. They also had a table outside where they collected signatures.

Attendance at school board meetings is down, as compared to the spring, when alarmed residents packed them to protest the proposed library cuts. As a result, few to no new residents signed on to the recall effort Thursday.

However, organizers said their push to reach 10,000 signatures is not flagging. While out in the community, they said they have received warm feedback with many jumping on the opportunity to sign. 

“It’s just wrong the way the board, not just the decisions they made, but the way they operated in secret. So with each bit of knowledge we get, I feel more and more motivated to not just show up to these meetings, but to tell others about it,” Valhalla High School alum Madeline McCurry-Schmidt, of La Mesa, said in an interview before donning her costume – the woman Fife addressed as Ms. Banana – for the meeting. 

After trustee Kelly’s comments, organizers said La Mesa is the first, but not the last area they plan to take their recall movement. 

In public comments, Greg Kelly of El Cajon announced his intent to run in the next election – whether regularly scheduled or a special recall.