To read a full list of the pros and cons of the proposed budget cuts, check out The Lance this Friday March 11

With the new budget cuts, District 66 proposed the option of eliminating one library position at Westside High School.

The district meets Nebraska’s Rule 10 (the 10 regulations and procedures for the credibility of schools) with a single librarian at Westside High School. It is not uncommon for metro high schools similar in size to Westside to operate with a single librarian. Other personnel would be appointed to provide support to library services.

This cut would save Westside $65,000. Assistant Superintendent Mark Weichel shared his thoughts on this budget cut.

“A lot of high schools will generally have one librarian, and while it is awesome to have two, it is one of those things that will help save the district [money],” Weichel said. “When you look at the school laws and regulations, you only have to have at least one librarian. It is not required to have two, and you can do the program that you have been doing with one person.”

Although this cut would save Westside thousands of dollars, the decision would cause Carrie Turner to lose her full-time job as librarian at the high school next year.

“I have really put my heart and soul into this school, and if I have not proven to Westside High School by now what I am worth in this position, then there is nothing that I can say,” Turner said.

Turner feels that she is a vital piece of the puzzle for Westside and has supported many students in her position as librarian at the High School.

“The one thing that people don’t understand is that they grew up with the librarian that sat behind the desk all day, and we are not that anymore,” Turner said. “With all of the information out there that is available for kids, it is vital to use your word to teach them how to find the information that is good, credible, authentic and current so they become better consumers of information when they are older, and that is what we were doing.”

Turner’s homeroom students have taken the possible change next year hard. Libby Bekins, a homeroom student of Turner, feels strongly about the budget cut possibility for her homeroom teacher.

“She is a really good person, and if she leaves it would not just cause devastation to my homeroom, but to the entire school body because she does so much for us,” Bekins said. “She is not just my homeroom teacher, but more of a second mom for me. She will do whatever it takes to make all of her homeroom students feel comfortable and loved.”

Westside High School library administrative assistant Laura Girmus says that she has similar feelings.

“I think that it is beneficial for the education of the students at Westside High School that we have two librarians here, not just one,” Girmus said.

If the budget cut is put into action, Turner will lose her job and be leaving Westside High School at the end of the year.