Letter from President about Mesa school librarians

Greetings AzLA Members:
For those of you who have not heard, Mesa Public Schools, Arizona’s largest school district recently announced a three-year plan to eliminate all school librarian positions as part of a cost-savings measure. Additionally, school districts around the state continue reducing library services in an effort to balance their budgets.
In response to this alarming situation "Fund Our Future Arizona," a coalition of parents, businesses and other partners/endorsers, has been formed to launch a statewide effort to raise awareness for school libraries. The Arizona Library Association has responded by becoming an official Charter Member of "Fund Our Future Arizona". A petition has begun circulating to provide Arizona citizens a forum to voice their support, which I strongly encourage all members to sign. I have attached a press release with further information and contacts.
Visit http://www.fundourfuturearizona.org for more information!
Please join me in an effort to support our libraries, schools, and students!

SB 1256 Property Tax Update

The Senate again failed to hold a vote on SB 1256: special districts; secondary levy limits (B. Burns) when a majority of senators told the bill's sponsor they planned to vote against the proposal. The bill, which would arbitrarily restrict county-controlled library, public health and jail districts to an annual increase of two percent plus new construction, has repeatedly been held back as Senate leadership attempts to corral the necessary votes.
After several months of negotiations on another property tax proposal, the Senate held a vote on HB 2220: state equalization property tax repeal (J. Weiers) when Senator Ken Cheuvront (D-15) changed his vote to allow the measure to pass. The permanent repeal of the state's education property tax rate had been stalled due to division in the Senate Republican caucus. If approved by Governor Napolitano, the proposal would permanently establish the property tax repeal that was suspended for three years in 2006. It is unclear whether or not the Governor will sign the legislation.

Teacher-Librarians: Take Action in Virtual Library Legislative Day

Just one week from tomorrow on April 17, many librarians and library supporters will descend upon the Arizona State Legislature to demonstrate to our lawmakers just how important libraries are to our communities. Many battles are being waged in the Legislature this year, including minimizing cuts to the State Library, Archives, and Public Records and the new Archives building, and fighting the secondary property tax cap. While none of these issues are directly about school libraries or teacher-librarians, all of these issues either directly or indirectly impact school libraries and teacher-librarians.

This is why I am asking you to participate in Virtual Library Legislative Day.

You do not need to come to the Capitol. You do not need to take a personal day.

I am asking for a commitment of five minutes of your time. Five minutes for you to either call or email your two representatives and one senator and leave a message with his/her secretary.

I am asking you to leave this message:

I am a constituent of Representative/Senator __________. Arizona Revised Statute 15-362 allows school districts to hire anyone to operate a school library, regardless of training or preparation. Why are school libraries treated differently than classrooms in Arizona?

Imagine if each legislator received 10 calls about this on April 17. Imagine if they received 50! Imagine if they received 100!

It is up to you to make your voice heard on this important issue. Will YOU make the commitment to call on April 17?

Find your Representatives and Senator: http://tinyurl.com/3czx2l

Representative and Senator phone/email list: http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp

ARS 15-362 http://www.azleg.gov/ars/15/00362.htm

You are cordially invited to participate in
Library Legislative Day

When: 9 to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 17, 2008
Where: Administrative Conference Room (2nd Floor)
What: Call your Representatives and Senator to schedule a personal appointment
Why: If we don’t speak up for libraries, who will?
Bring: Library supporters, library board members, Friends of your library, and

information about your library to add to your district packets.

Agenda
8:30 – 9:00 Registration – Pick up packets to deliver to legislators
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Introductions
Angela Creel-Erb, AzLA President
Senate President Timothy Bee (invited)
House Speaker James Weiers (invited)
9:15 – 9:30 Legislative Process
Mike Braun, Director, Legislative Council
9:30 – 9:55 Budget Process
Michael Hunter, Senior Policy Advisor for Budget & Finance
9:55 – 10:15 2008 Legislative Agenda
Brenda Brown, AzLALegislative Chair
Kristen Boilini, AzLA Lobbyist
10:15 – 11:30 Appointments with Legislators and Executive Staff
Appointments to be set by legislative day attendee in advance
11:30 – 1:00 Lunch with Legislators on the Senate Lawn
1:00 – 4:00 Appointments with Legislators and Executive Staff
Appointments to be set by legislative day attendee in advance
REGISTRATION FORM
THERE WILL BE A $10.00 REGISTRATION FEE FOR LEGISLATIVE DAY. THIS FEE WILL COVER YOUR BBQ LUNCH AND IS PAYABLE ONLY THE MORNING OF LEGISLATIVE DAY
Name: _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Library Represented: _________________________________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Home Phone: ________________________________________ Work Phone: ____________________________________
E-mail: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Legislative Dist. # ____________________ Number in Party: ______________________

Fax your registration to 480-782-2823