Library, School District Issues Continue, Part Two

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part look at the school district and Phoenixville Public Library. .

 Following a ruling in November that declared Phoenixville Public Library employees as school employees of Phoenixville Area School District, many questions have been answered but some still remain.

An ad-hoc committee of the entire school board met to discuss the future of the library, and employees and volunteers were told they’d need background checks. Additionally, all human relations issues would go to the school district due to potential liability issues. The board also came to a consensus that the school district .

The ad-hoc committee decided to send all remaining library questions out to the school board’s committees, and that is where it stands now. It’s also budget season at PASD, and library funding has been discussed at budget meetings. Here is a look at a few issues that the school district and library officials are working out.

New Policy on Selecting Trustees in the Works

In the past, the library’s board of trustees has come to a decision on whom to bring in when there is a vacancy on the board. Then, that name was sent to the school board, which had final approval.

A new proposed policy would change the way trustees are appointed. While it has not yet been approved, School Board President Paul Slaninka said he believes it will lead to a better way to bring on new trustees.

“Now we’re just doing a more thoughtful process,” Slaninka said.

At a recent school board meeting, he told the board that the library trustees didn’t seem in favor of the changes.

“They didn’t like the fact that candidates would have to sit in front of the public and interview. They thought that was not proper,” Slaninka said.

He added that the trustees “feel excluded” from the process laid out by the proposed policy.

The policy gives guidelines on filling vacancies. The school board will advertise the vacancy and those interested would submit applications to the school board, which would then conduct all interviews at a public school board meeting, if the policy is approved as it is currently drafted. At the following school board meeting, nominees will be offered up and a roll call vote will be taken to select the nominee who will fill the vacancy.

Sue Meadows, president of the library’s board of trustees, said in a phone interview that the trustees have always been careful in selecting board members in the past.

“We do our due diligence and we vet our candidates,” Meadows said.

She said the trustees don’t see any instance in the draft policy where they can be involved in the process.

“We felt that we wanted to have input into who future board members would be,” Meadows said.

There’s currently a vacancy on the board of trustees, and an appointment has not happened pending the new policy.

Résumé Inquiries Ruffle Feathers

In relation to the issue of selecting new trustees, Slaninka told the board that someone had requested résumés from all community members currently serving on the library’s board of trustees.

“They felt that they were offended by that request,” Slaninka said at the board meeting.

He said the request was made to ensure that there is a mix of people on the board of trustees, rather than having six people from the same profession, for example. Slaninka noted that this could also help with selection of a new trustee, because those appointing the new trustee could look for a balance in history.

Meadows said the request for résumés took trustees by surprise. She noted that since the November ruling, supporters of the library have been on the defensive, wondering how the future will unfurl.

“I think we just felt that our integrity was being questioned,” Meadows said.

Slaninka told the board that he didn’t hear any indication that the résumés would be provided, but said he’d keep the board updated on any and all library news.

Funding for 2012-2013, ‘Triage’ Discussed

At the school board’s March budget meeting, board members discussed possibly reducing the allocation given to the Phoenixville Public Library by $20,000.

The board had a similar discussion last year. Originally, the full amount requested by the library—$539,791—was included in the 2011-2012 preliminary budget. That number was shaved back to $508,000, what the library had received in 2010-2011. However, there was a debate about whether or not to cut an additional $20,000, and it came down to a final vote on the evening the budget was approved. The board voted to leave the $20,000 in, keeping the funding levels at $508,000 but not increasing the amount to the library's requested number.

At the budget meeting for the 2012-2013 budget, Slaninka mentioned possibly cutting $20,000 from the library’s allocation. He said the cut was discussed last year and he was hoping it might be on the table again.

“I was hoping that I would see a reduction in this area,” Slaninka said.

He said he asked the library officials for a “triage” that would go over the most important and least important things, hoping to single out areas that could possibly be cut.

Board Treasurer Josh Gould said the library has already made cutbacks, reducing hours and laying off employees.

“They’ve already cut fairly significantly in my opinion,” Gould said.

Board Member David Ziev said he agreed with Slaninka and hoped that $10,000 to $20,000 could be cut from the library’s budget.

Ziev said he thought suggesting the cut might entice the library officials to present the triage document.

Meadows noted in a phone interview that to her knowledge, the triage has only been requested once, not multiple times. She said the strategic plan for the library would have to come into play when crafting such a document.

“Our budget is bare bones,” Meadows said.

Gould suggested sticking with the original funding of $508,000 and then deciding on a possible cut at the end of the budget process, as was done last year. Slaninka said he would again request the triage list.