$1 Million in Library Renovations May Be Put on Hold

Questions about the future of may delay changes to the library, the Phoenixville Area School Board was told on Wednesday.

There’s too much uncertainty to proceed with to the Phoenixville Public Library, according to Library Foundation President Maureen Ash. Questions arose about the library and how much control the school board should exert over it after a ruling from the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) stated that library employees are public employees.

The ruling came in November, and in January, Superintendent Dr. Alan Fegley put together for the district to consider regarding library employees. The school board took two of the suggested steps: having library employees and volunteers fill out background checks applicable to all school employees and having human resources matters at the library go through the district.

An ad-hoc committee was set up, involving the entire school board, to deal with the possible implications of the ruling on the district’s relationship with the library. At Thursday’s meeting, Ron Williams, district solicitor, was on hand with a brief that offered up answers to some of the board’s questions.

One of the biggest issues tackled was whether or not Phoenixville Area School District could “completely divest itself” of the library. The district owns the building, does payroll and administers benefits for employees and selects trustees who serve on the library board, including two school board members and the superintendent. In addition, the district contributed $508,000 to the library for the 2011-2012 school year as the taxing authority for the public library.

Williams' conclusion was that, despite earlier agreements, the district could completely divest itself of Phoenixville Public Library, as long as the library remains "sustainable and viable" after ties are severed.

While at the end of Thursday’s meeting, school board members came to a consensus that they wouldn’t seek to completely spin off the library, those involved with the library expressed uncertainty.

“We’re gravely concerned,” said Sue Mostek, executive director of the Phoenixville Public Library Foundation, after the meeting.

Earlier in the night, Ash said the lack of a solid course of action may force the library to delay $1 million in renovations planned for the spring.

The foundation obtained a grant and then came up with matching money to do the renovation project. Ash said the foundation has bids in to start the work. She said the foundation will not move forward with the project if the board doesn’t come to a decision about the fate of Phoenixville Public Library.

“We are not going to improve a building that you are going to get rid of,” Ash said.

Later, after the board had come to a consensus about not divesting itself completely from the library, Ash was asked by a school board member if she felt more at ease.

She said she still didn’t feel comfortable starting the project in March.

“We need to know that we will be in that building for years to come,” Ash said.

One of the requirements of any type of spin-off would be that the library would have to remain “sustainable and viable” after the split. School board members indicated that in the event of a split, the district would still provide financial support in the form of a yearly check written to the library.

Sue Meadows, president of the Phoenixville Library Board of Trustees, said the library couldn’t survive without the district’s funding.

“If you cut us free we will have no funding and we will have no tax base,” Meadows said.

David Ziev, the school board member who is chairing the library committee, said no matter what, the school district would still provide funding to the library.

“Our discussion has not been to send the library on its merry way,” Ziev said.

, executive director of the Chester County Library System, spoke briefly to the school board and said he would be willing to be involved with any discussions about Phoenixville Public Library. He also pointed out that the school district would have more control over the library if it wasn’t spun off to be an independent entity, as the school district officials appoint people to the library’s board and also have three members directly serving on that board.

When asked about how other libraries were funded, and if any in Chester County are set up like the one in Phoenixville, Sherwood said no other library uses the school district as its taxing authority, though two in the county system do use the municipality as the taxing authority.

On a statewide level, Sherwood said libraries are “all over the map” when it comes to how they’re funded.

“There’s no mandated way of funding,” Sherwood said.

School board members briefly discussed the possibility of turning taxing authority duties over to the municipalities served by the Phoenixville Public Library—Phoenixville, Charlestown, East Pikeland and Schuylkill Township.

School Board Treasurer Josh Gould pointed out that the school district’s $79 million annual budget equals more than all of those municipalities combined.

“So who’s the best taxing authority?” Gould said.

The discussion on the library will continue in committee. School board members will submit questions for the committees to tackle, and then the issue will come before the board again at a regular board workshop meeting in the future. 

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