Hempfield to reevaluate high school library following resignation of librarian

Hempfield Area High School is reevaluating how to use its library space, district officials said.

The high school’s librarian submitted a letter of resignation a few weeks ago, working her last shift Friday. But the district is holding off on hiring a new full-time employee for the position.

With sights set on an extensive renovation of the high school, the district may decide to upgrade the library to fit modern needs, said Superintendent Mark Holtzman. If the district opts for a media center-style of space, it may change the type of librarian hired, he said.

“We’re trying to make sure that as we go to replace the position, we make a decision that fits the future of education,” Holtzman said.

Holtzman also expressed concerns about hiring in the middle of the school year.

“One of the other challenges at this time of the year is that if someone internally applies for the position, I don’t want to remove someone from a classroom,” he said.

The school board supports the approach, said President Jerry Radebaugh. He believes a more modern style of space would better support future students.

“I foresee it being more of a media and reference center than your standard, old library,” he said. “Just the way students are learning differently, the way teachers are teaching differently now, I think we need to reevaluate that.”

The library will still remain open to students. A librarian who works at the district’s middle schools will fill in at the high school Mondays and Fridays, Holtzman said.

Teachers will help staff the space throughout the rest of the week, but the district may later decide to have substitute teachers fill the gap, he said.

The high school renovation has been on hold since August 2023, when the school board rejected bids that ballooned project costs to almost $150 million — nearly $20 million more than expected. The interior of the high school was proposed to be gutted and renovated over the course of three years, leaving most of the exterior intact with some additions.

Core Architects resigned from the project in February. The district paid more than $2.4 million to the firm for its work on the project.

The district hired architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates in April to take over the project — working alongside construction manager SitelogIQ and owner’s rep McKinley Architecture and Engineering.

The architecture firm is gathering feedback from teachers on classroom spaces to direct the renovation, Holtzman said.