COVID-19 and Temporary School Library Lay-offs
April 29, 2020
As with municipalities and public libraries, school boards are dealing with the effects of physical distancing, the closing of school facilities, and the suspension of in-school education.
In response to pressure from provincial governments to find budget savings, a number of school boards are announcing the temporary lay-offs of employees.
Based on media reports, news releases, and emails with officials, the following table compiles numbers of affected school library workers:
| Province | School Board | # of Employees Affected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Calgary Board of Education | 222 Library Assistants 1 Library Resource / Technology Specialist 2 Library Technicians | Details (Apr 9) |
| Alberta | Edmonton Public Schools | 65 library technicians | Details (Apr 18) |
| Alberta | Pembina Hills School Division | 10 librarians (mix of full-time and part-time) | Details (Apr 6) |
| Manitoba | Pembina Trails School Division | 32 library technicians | Details (Apr 17) |
In some school boards, lay-offs of employees, including school library staff, have been announced but without reporting library-specific numbers:
| Province | School Board | # of Employees Affected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Elk Island Public Schools | 189 permanent employees and 128 hourly & short-term staff "Those who are receiving layoff notices include a wide range of non-teaching and support-staff groups." | Details (Apr 20) |
| Alberta | High Prairie School Division | 150 people Includes school bus drivers, educational assistants, secretaries, library technicians, central office support staff, and transportation support staff | Details (Apr 6) |
| Alberta | Holy Spirit Catholic School Division | 181 staff members Includes Early Learning Educational Assistants and Early Learning Speech Language Assistants, as well as Child and Youth Care Workers, Library Clerks, Library Technicians and Receptionists | Details (Apr 3) |
| Alberta | Lethbridge School Division | 300 employees Includes some education assistants and advanced education support staff, learning commons facilitators, career practitioners, and some administrative support professionals | Details (Apr 3) |
| Alberta | Northern Gateway Public Schools | 130 staff (approx) Includes educational assistants and learning commons facilitators | Details (Apr 23) |
| Alberta | Rocky View Schools | 240 support staff - include select Education Centre support staff, as well as school-based learning commons staff and receptionists | Details (Apr 9) |
| Alberta | St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic School Division | 147 staff Including educational assistants, FSLWs, librarians, custodians, and information and technology staff. | Details (Apr 21) |
| Manitoba | Border Land School Division | "about half of its support staff" Includes educational, vocational and admin assistants, bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance staff, librarians, custodians, and cafeteria workers In 2018/19, the division had 418.9 FTEs employees of which 221.9 FTEs were neither teaching personnel nor administration/management. | Details (Apr 22) |
| Manitoba | River East Transcona School Division | 200 bus drivers, custodial aides, library technicians "and other support staff" | Details (Apr 24) |
| Manitoba | St. James-Assiniboia School Division | 383 educational support staff Including bus drivers, education and "other non-teaching" assistants and library technicians | Details (Apr 24) |
Librarianship.ca will continue to report on temporary lay-offs in school libraries as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
If there are school library lay-offs not reflected in the tables above, please let us know. Email us at info@librarianship.ca
One reply on “COVID-19 and Temporary School Library Lay-offs”
The Edmonton Public School figures only reflect permanent staff. Substitute library techs were laid off in Mid March along with other on call positions such as educational assistants. This number doesn’t include library techs on leave of absence as well.