Cuts to BC Teacher Librarians Shocking

BC teacher-librarians stunned by proposed cuts

Teacher-librarians across the province are stunned by proposed cuts to
teacher-librarian staffing in recent budget recommendations by Vancouver and
Coquitlam, said Heather Daly, president of the BC Teacher-Librarians’
Association.

“Once upon a time, the provincial government said they wanted BC to be the
most literate jurisdiction in North America,” said Daly. “But now,
government underfunding is forcing school districts to lay off the very
people that help children learn to read.

“Teacher-librarians don’t just teach students to read, we teach them to love
reading. Teacher-librarians teach research skills and Internet literacy.
Without teacher-librarians, schools and students will lose a valuable
resource that will only negatively impact their learning.”

In Vancouver, the board of education has proposed:

– Reduction of 43.0 FTE teachers including resource teachers (ESL and
Special Education), learning assistance/skills development teachers,
secondary school counsellors, and teacher-librarians.
– This proposed reduction of learning specialist teachers including
teacher-librarians, with a budget impact of $2,911,530, is the largest,
single proposed cut within the budget recommendations.
– Elimination of the 1.0 FTE teacher-librarian consultant position with
the subsequent addition of a 0.4 FTE teacher-librarian mentor.
– Elimination of 0.4 additional teacher-librarian time at Britannia
Elementary, with 0.2 eliminated in 2010–11 and the remaining 0.2 eliminated
in 2011–12.

In Coquitlam, the board of education has proposed:

– Reduction of 9.0 FTE non-enrolling teachers including
teacher-librarians.
– This proposed reduction, with a budget impact of $810,000, is the
largest, single proposed cut within the budget recommendations.

“The BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association is calling on all boards of
education to preserve school library services for students and reject
recommendations that will hurt literacy in BC,” said Daly. “Schools need a
library that is open all day and staffed with a teacher-librarian to ensure
students have the best access to books and research possible.”

For more information, go to the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association website
at http://www.bctf.ca/BCTLA or contact Heather Daly at 604-937-6380.

BC BookWorld: Tell Premier Campbell to Listen to His Government’s Report

With public money, Premier Gordon Campbell has created his own
$40,000 national literary prize, B.C.’s National Award for Canadian
Non-Fiction, which he annually presents in person at a lavish
ceremony at the Pan Pacific—all financed by B.C. taxpayers. The
prize money for this award was recently raised to $40,000—from
$25,000—matching the Ontario-based Griffin Poetry Prize and
Scotiabank Giller Prize. Campbell’s own national literary award
receives far more public funding per year than /B.C. BookWorld/
which serves 100,000 readers per issue, via 900 outlets in the
province, and has been identified in a B.C. government report at
“the most important cog in the infrastructure” that supports writing
and publishing in the province.

It is the most-read independent
publication about books in Canada, even thought it is targeted to
B.C.’s 13% of the population. Now all of /B.C./ /BookWorld/’s
funding via Pacific BookWorld News Society has been suddenly
withdrawn, with three weeks’ notice. The Premier’s book award is
doing fine.

*If you feel inclined to express your opinion as to why /B.C. BookWorld/ deserves to exist, please send a few paragraphs in an email to bookworld@telus.net.

Or you can take a supporter/subscription by sending a cheque for $25 made out to Pacific BookWorld News Society, 3516 West 13th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6R 2S3. PayPal option at www.bcbookworld.com