Due to gaps in state funding that have cost the Renton School District more than $104 million over the past five years, the district has had to make significant cuts, including the dismissal of all middle school and high school librarians for the 2025-2026 school year.

The district’s budget shortfall of $15 million was caused by the end of COVID relief funds, increased funding in 2018-2019 being outpaced by inflation and rising labor costs, the state’s operation budget declining from 52.4% in 2019 to 43.1% in 2024, and the declines in enrollment, among other reasons.

At the March 26 Renton School Board meeting, the 2025-2026 budget planning update presentation revealed that the district’s costs for special education, materials, supplies and operating costs, student transportation and substitute teachers have outpaced the state’s funding.

The presentation also showed a timeline leading up to the adoption of the final 2025-2026 budget on June 25. In February, cuts were made to assistant principals, human resources, finance, maintenance, nutrition services and Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) admins. The reductions made in February totaled $9.34 million, but they were not enough.

“In February, they were cutting administration at the elementary level, but this round came in and they wanted to keep the cuts away from the students,” said Nicole Huff, a librarian at Talley High School. “The problem is that the cuts they have made, they are to school programs, and library program cuts affect students.”

At the end of March, all library positions at Dimmitt Middle School, McKnight Middle School, Nelsen Middle School, Risdon Middle School, Hazen High School, Lindbergh High School, Renton High School and Talley High School were cut.

“It’s really going to hurt students in the end,” said Heather Goude, a librarian who has worked at McKnight since 2001. “There’s tons of data and studies that show the impact of a librarian at a school. There’s a noticeable decline in students who are English learners and are low-income. Now, these students are not going to have the benefit of a teacher librarian.”

One 2015 study by the Washington Library Media Association found that students who attend schools with an on-staff certified teacher-librarian (CTL) benefit greatly. One of the key findings from the study noted that students perform better on standardized tests and are more likely to graduate high school. The study also found that students who are least likely to have access to a quality library are “disproportionately more likely to face poverty and other risk factors known to adversely impact student achievement.”

According to a 2024 article from the Center for American Progress, school libraries not only promote strong reading habits and a quiet place for students to study, but also help build students’ research skills and digital literacy.

“We help students learn about misinformation, disinformation. Schools need people with our expertise to help students, especially with the implementation of AI,” said Goude.

While Goude and Huff understand that the district is in a difficult situation and had to make cuts, they want an assurance that librarians will be able to return.

“We get the current situation and that it’s a financial crisis, but we want to see a commitment from our district that this would not be status quo and that school librarians will be re-instated at all schools,” said Goude. “We’re worried that this will be permanent.”

While speaking with the Renton Reporter, Goude and Huff pointed out that there are state laws regarding school library programs. One law says that school library information and technology programs must “include resources that promote a positive impact on student learning, such as a variety of resources for reading advocacy, student communication skills, electronic and print information, and resources that support student mastery of the essential academic learning requirements in all subject areas.” Under state law, a CTL is part of these resources.

Senate Bill 5551, which is currently in committee, would ensure that every K-12 student in Washington has access to a strong school library program, which would include requiring districts with over 2,000 students to have CTL-staffed libraries.

“Our programs are everything from poetry jams, finding safe spaces, tech specialists, the people who help with professional development,” said Huff. “We are the people who are certified in lots of different behavioral strategies and learning theories. We’re the ones who have the time and space to collaborate and create things for students that aren’t just instructions in a classroom.”

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