Greensburg Salem School District officials are debating using federal pandemic relief money to temporarily cover restoration of recently eliminated librarian positions, which aren’t otherwise provided for under the 2021-22 budget, set to be approved Wednesday with no tax increase.

According to district Business Manager J.R. Dzurica, Greensburg Salem received about $820,000 in the first round and $3.1 million in the second round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) allocations, derived from federal funds targeted for recovery from the effects of the covid-19 pandemic.

That money was applied to technology used for students to receive instruction remotely during the pandemic and toward after-school and Summer Success programs meant to help bridge learning gaps for students who fell behind academically without in-person lessons.

The district is expected to receive about $7.1 million in a third round of ESSER funding, to be spent over three years.

School board member Lynna Thomas asked if those funds could be tapped to restore two elementary and a middle school librarian slots that were eliminated this past year through attrition.

“We’ve heard about the value of, not just librarians and not just the library, but library programming, the benefit of that to the community and to our students, and especially coming back from this year after a tremendous learning loss,” Thomas said.

With the current staffing situation, she said, “Expecting one librarian at the high school to manage five libraries (across district schools), we already know that’s not realistic.”

According to Lenni Nedley, district coordinator of elementary education, federal programs and instruction, federal officials “really are not saying yes or no” concerning the use of ESSER dollars for such staffing. But, she added that they do “not recommend schools doing that because, after that third year, we do not have funding to support that.”

Dzurica concurred. He noted that, after the ESSER funding expires in three years, the district would “run into a cliff,” facing a tough decision of whether or how to maintain the restored positions. He estimated it would cost $250,000 annually in compensation for the posts.

Thomas suggested a district grant writer, a new job to be filled under the 2021-22 budget, might be able to find an alternate funding source for continued support of the library positions.

Nedley and Dzurica noted it ultimately is up to school board members to decide if and how they want to re-establish the librarians. “If the majority of the board would be in favor of that, we can make it work,” Dzurica said.

Heather Pittler of Greensburg joined other district residents arguing that elementary libraries are of little use without librarians to staff them.

“It’s about all the children, and what impacts we’re making to them as we make cuts to programs,” she told the board. “I appreciate the board being conservative. But my question to you is, ‘Have you been too conservative?’

“People had access to the libraries,” Superintendent Gary Peiffer responded. “They weren’t boarded up. We had people taking kids in there individually.”

Board member Robin Savage pondered whether the district should be concerned about beefing up instruction in core subject areas, such as math, reading and science, to help students who may be falling behind because of the pandemic.

Another idea was to bring in a social worker to address the needs of students who may have experienced mental health issues during the pandemic.

Summer help for students

Ken Bissell, coordinator of secondary education, noted the free Summer Success program is underway for students in grades 6-12 who want to recover lost academic ground. Local colleges are assisting with the program, which is held 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, through July 1, at the high school.

The program includes reading and math instruction, career counseling, artistic expression, two meals and transportation.

Because of the heightened need for extra academic help this year, Bissell said, students still may sign up to join the program midstream by calling the middle school office at 724-832-2930 or the high school office at 724-832-2960.

Swimming instruction is an added feature of a similar summer program for students in grades 3-5, continuing through July 1 at Nicely Elementary.

During a workshop period, “We’re addressing a lot of social and emotional learning problems,” said Michelle Wiltrout Sparrow, a STEAM lab educator at Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary who has been assisting with the summer program at Nicely. “It’s an amazing experience. The kids are engaged the entire time.”

A program for grades K-2 is slated Mondays through Thursdays July 12 through Aug. 5. Call 724-832-2865 to register.

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