Six full time librarians will be spread out across the 10 elementary schools in San Luis Coastal Unified School District next school year thanks to an estimated $190,000 reduction in the elementary library media tech budget.
The middle and high schools will remain fully staffed.
“Libraries, that’s like the heart of what literacy is and learning is, and to make these cuts at the elementary school level is just so devastating,” district parent Chelsea Ruiz told New Times.
She spoke at the district’s school board meeting on June 2, imploring board members to reconsider their decision.
Larger elementary schools, like Los Ranchos and C.L. Smith, will receive four days a week of library tech time, while smaller schools like Teach and Del Mar will receive two days a week of library tech time, according to Assistant Superintendent Lisa Yamashita. The staffing cuts are being implemented alongside others made to balance the $5 million budget deficit the district was facing for the next school year.
Outside of when a technician is present, the school library will remain accessible to classes for learning under the supervision of other staff members, Yamashita told New Times via email.
Ruiz told New Times that she spoke with other parents and attended a couple of school board meetings to voice her concerns. She said that while she understands that the district is in a horribly impossible situation and had to balance the budget, she is asking the district to work with her and allow librarians to stay at their current elementary school sites.
“I heard a lot of parents from multiple schools complaining,” Ruiz said. “They were really, really unhappy. They felt like this was the worst possible way this could have been implemented, and I’m the kind of person that doesn’t like to complain, I like to get stuff done, and so I just felt like if everyone feels so strongly about this, and of course, I felt strongly about it too … then I felt like I should do something about it.”
Parent Minh Truong found out about the library restructuring through Ruiz, and she said she finds the budget cuts disheartening. Truong described the elementary school library as a safe space to go during lunch and a place where students, like hers, can build healthy relationships with the staff.
“The librarian has also built a healthy relationship with my child and has become another mentor, and so I see the librarian as not just a librarian but a mentor for these children, and these children also need support in terms of wellness, in terms of emotional support, and it’s another great place and avenue for that,” Truong said.
Working with the community is important to Truong, as she wants the district to offer the community an opportunity to problem solve and come up with creative solutions.
“The impacts of these cuts are basically reducing access for students, our children mainly, from the library and the librarians as well,” Truong said.
Yamashita said that Assistant Superintendent Greg Puccia met individually with the library media technicians and held collaborative consultations with the district librarian, the schools, and district administrators.
The district will monitor the budget and make adjustments to library assignments if or when additional funds are available for library services, according to Yamashita.
“Despite these staffing adjustments, we are committed to maintaining a robust, high-quality literacy program,” Yamashita said via email. “Our technicians will continue to manage our collections and co-teach essential research and digital citizenship skills.” ∆
This article appears in June 11-18, 2026.
