Thank you Peggy;  I think your question is a very good one.

I have been speaking with the representatives and I think their plan is:
1) introduce these bills to raise awareness of the issue of lack of equitable access to appropriately staffed school libraries  (we will need everyone's support in raising awareness!)
2) begin work on funding/grant packages to be able to fund these initiatives (support for funding will be easier to come by with an understanding of the issue)

I would also like to point out that school districts will be generally getting more money this year and, also, due to the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); school districts can now use federal Title I and Title IV dollars toward developing effective school library programs (this was NOT true in the past).  School districts can also use Title IIA money to pay for teachers' coursework to add the Library Media (ND) endorsement to their teaching certificates.  Here is the MDE memo which was sent to all state superintendents:
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/School_Library_Month_619701_7.pdf
In the third paragraph of this memo, it states:
"Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools may utilize Title I and Title IVA funds for “developing effective school library programs to provide students an opportunity to develop digital literacy skills and improve academic achievement,” as well as Title IIA Page 2 April 5, 2018 funds to support professional learning for school librarians and teachers seeking to add a Library Media (ND) endorsement on their teaching certificates."

Finally, this is my personal opinion (it may not be the opinion of my association) --- that it is not truly a funding issue in all districts; but, a matter of priority.
In one school district, they added several "Dean of Students" positions and gave administrators raises in the same year that they cut media specialists and said there was no money.
In another district, they 'fired' all of their media specialists, rewrote job descriptions, and hired "technology integrationists" in their place.
Some school districts that receive the minimum per-pupil funding per student have certified school librarians in every school while other school districts that receive as much as $3000.00 (or even higher amount) per pupil more than the minimum per-pupil funding say that they cannot afford it.

It is definitely a complex issue.   I do believe that our Michigan schools are underfunded and there are several studies which confirm this.
The latest (January 2018) study can be found here:
http://www.fundmischools.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/School-Finance-Research-Collaborative-Report.pdf

Sorry for the lengthy response.
The short of it is, the legislators sponsoring these bills do understand the need for funding and will work on this. 
The introduction of the bills will raise awareness of the need for school libraries staffed by certified school librarians.
We will need everyone's support on this.  Look for a call to action from MAME early this week.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
All my best,
--Kathy

Kathy Lester, MLIS, MA
Advocacy Chair, Past-President 2014
Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME)
SIGLIB Steering Committee
Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL)
School Library Media Specialist / Technology Coach
SL21 Model Library, 2017-2018
SL21 Exemplary Ranking - Michigan School Libraries for the 21st Century 2016-2019
East Middle School, Plymouth-Canton Schools
ISTE Making IT Happen Award Winner
2017 MAME Michigan School Library Program of the Year
2012 State Librarian's Excellence Award Winner
810.333.5873


On Fri, Apr 27, 2018 at 1:40 PM, Peggy Hemerling via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:

This is great news!!! This would be a huge step forward to helping improve the literacy rate of Michigan’s children.

 

I have one question. Are there any provision in the bills to help schools pay for their new certified librarians or media specialists? Also, will the State provide the funds needed to rebuild the collections of school libraries that have been closed, in some cases for years? Passing these bills would be wonderful, but if there is no financing to support the mandates, many schools will find it nearly impossible to pay for these important services.  

 

I hope all of this will be taken into consieeration as these forward thinking Representatives move forward to try to remedy a situation that has needed attention for too long.

 

Sincerely,

 

Peggy Hemerling

Library Director

Hastings Public Library

227 E. State St.

Hastings, MI 49058

(269) 945-4263

 

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From: Klaudia Janek [mailto:kjanek@bloomfield.org]
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2018 11:00 AM
To: michlib-l@mcls.org
Subject: [Michlib-l] Fwd: [Mamelist] FW: Bills Require Library in Every Michigan Public School

 

Big news in the school library world today!  I just wanted to share with our public library partners so that we can get the word out.

 

Best-

Klaudia


Klaudia Janek, MLIS

School Librarian

IB Extended Essay Coordinator

Michigan Association for Media in Education - 2018 President

AASL Region #3 MI Delegate 

 

248 341 5925

http://iamediacenter.blogspot.com

 

International Academy

1020 East Square Lake Road

Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

 

Image removed by sender.

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lester, Kathy via Mamelist <mamelist@mcls.org>
Date: Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 10:56 PM
Subject: [Mamelist] FW: Bills Require Library in Every Michigan Public School
To: mamelist <mamelist@mcls.org>

Please see the forwarded message.

Michigan House Reps Darrin Camilleri, Adam Zemke, and Christine Greig introduced bills today to require libraries and school librarians!

 

MAME President, Klaudia Janek, asked me to pass this on to everyone.

 

The MAME Advocacy Committee will be sending out a call to action soon.  We will need everyone's help to support this!

 

Feeling excited and blessed...

 

All my best to everyone!

--Kathy

 

Kathy Lester, MLIS, MA
Advocacy Chair, Past-President 2014

Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME)

SIGLIB Steering Committee

Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL)

School Library Media Specialist / Technology Coach

SL21 Model Library, 2017-2018

SL21 Exemplary Ranking - Michigan School Libraries for the 21st Century 2016-2019

East Middle School, Plymouth-Canton Schools

ISTE Making IT Happen Award Winner

2017 MAME Michigan School Library Program of the Year

2012 State Librarian's Excellence Award Winner

810.333.5873

Image removed by sender.

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 3:15 PM
Subject: FW: Bills Require Library in Every Michigan Public School
To: "Lester, Kathy" <kathyl@mimame.org>

 

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Contact: Samantha Hart

Phone: (260) 413-4882

Bills Require Library in Every Michigan Public School

Legislation comes in response to literacy crisis facing Michigan schools

LANSING — State Reps. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown Township) and Adam Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) and House Democratic Floor Leader Christine Greig (D-Farmington Hills) introduced a package of bills to require staffed libraries in every public school in Michigan in response to the state’s staggering illiteracy rates and in honor of April as School Library Month.

“Every student has a right to read, yet not every public school is required to offer students a library to help them grow and develop,” said Rep. Camilleri, a former high school social studies teacher. “Even our state’s prisons are required to have a library with a certified librarian.[1] If we can ensure our state’s prisoners have a library available, surely we can work to provide our state’s young minds with access to this vital resource.”

Over the past decade, support for school libraries has fallen throughout the state, with many public schools opting to use library space for other purposes. Michigan is ranked 47th in the nation for its ratio of students to certified librarians or media specialists. As of 2012, only 8 percent of public schools in the state have at least one full-time certified media specialist. At the same time, however, the need for services provided by school libraries with certified media specialists is growing. In 2017, 56 percent of third-graders failed the reading test included on the state’s assessment.

“Michigan is no doubt experiencing a literacy crisis, and it is clear we need to be more creative in our efforts to reverse this trajectory before it is too late,” said Rep. Zemke, Democratic vice chair of the House Education Reform Committee. “We are at a critical moment in our state when we must choose whether to take significant steps to improve our schools, or face the consequences of continued educational decline. It is crucial we do all we can to help put our state’s students on a path to success.”

Specifically, the three-bill package would do the following:

·      House Bill 5909: Require every public school in Michigan to offer a library beginning in the 2018-19 school year that meets certain criteria. (Rep. Zemke)

·      HB 5910: Require a school district board to employ at least one certified media specialist for each school library operated by that district beginning in the 2018-19 school year. (Rep. Camilleri)

·      HB 5911: Require a principle or other appropriate administrator to designate an individual to supervise students in a school library when a certified media specialist is not present. (Rep. Greig)

“In honor of Reading Month, my colleagues and I spent all of March traveling throughout our districts sharing our love of reading with students,” Rep. Greig said. “Rather than focusing on reading one month of the year, we must recommit ourselves to providing Michigan’s students with the best literacy resources and instruction possible all year long. We hope our colleagues will understand the necessity of this legislation and the crisis Michigan’s students are facing, and support this important set of bills.”

“Certified school library media specialists provide vital services to their students and school communities. They are integral to reading, technology integration, and information literacy and have a high impact on student achievement,” said Kathy Lester with the Michigan Association for Media in Education. “I commend Representatives Camilleri, Greig and Zemke for recognizing that our students deserve equitable access to this essential resource.”

###

[1] http://www.michigan.gov/documents/corrections/05_03_110_337354_7.pdf


 


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