Who needs librarians, anyway?

Apparently not Federal Way, says the Seattle Times:

----------------------------As Puget Sound school districts prepare their budgets — and propose cuts — for next year, one district may trim a cherished position: the school librarian.

Federal Way Superintendent Tom Murphy has recommended a budget that aims to avoid a $4 million shortfall largely through slashing the number of librarians from 34 to seven. Each school currently has one librarian; the recommendation would give each school a librarian one day a week.
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Whenever there's a budget crisis it seems like librarians are one of the first things that end up on the cut list, and I can't understand why. I've never heard of a school that didn't have one, and I've seen the difference they make in turning kids onto reading and keeping them motivated.

Happily, it looks like the union might be able to help the situation:

---------------------------------One potential wrinkle in the district's plan is a grievance that the Federal Way Education Association (FWEA) may file. The district plans to operate the libraries with paraprofessionals and have certificated librarians focus on teaching reading, but FWEA President Shannon Rasmussen said that violates the teachers' contract. Murphy said a successful grievance would lead the school district to close the libraries when a librarian wasn't present..
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