10:00 PM PST on Thursday, March 11, 2010

By DAYNA STRAEHLEY
The Press-Enterprise

Libraries at middle and high schools in Riverside will be staffed differently next year, but school board members said Thursday they don’t know yet exactly how.

To buy district officials time, the board voted unanimously to send preliminary layoff notices to all 12 teacher-librarians in middle and high schools. The board then approved preliminary layoff notices for 18 adult education teachers.

Board members were quick to say that doesn’t mean libraries will close, and that the district will continue to offer adult education.

“This is not the end of adult education,” board member Chuck Beaty said, praising the district’s tradition of what he called the finest adult education system.

Board member Tom Hunt said the current economy makes adult education more important than ever.

Kathleen Sanchez, assistant superintendent for human resources, said the adult education teachers are funded from multiple sources and the 18 on Thursday’s agenda aren’t all of the adult school teachers.

“If the funding returns, their positions will continue,” she said.

The pink slips approved Thursday afternoon bring the district total to 399 teachers and four counselors.

The counselors’ jobs may be saved as a separate negotiation item for shorter work days or a shorter work year. Counselors and board members are concerned about huge caseloads that could prevent remaining counselors from getting to know their students.

Each high school and middle school has one library clerk and one teacher-librarian, Sanchez said. The library clerks’ jobs were cut March 1, and they told the board how they open the libraries early when students arrive at school and keep them open late.

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