NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 965

HOUSE BILL 999

 

 

AN ACT TO PROVIDE INCREASED SUPPORT OF LIBRARY/LEARNING RESOURCES CENTER PERSONNEL IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS THROUGH AN ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

 

Whereas, it is the generally accepted belief of educators, students, parents, and other citizens of the State that the library/learning resources center is the base on which instructional programs must be built; and

Whereas, there are 642 schools or nearly 1/3 of the total number of schools in North Carolina that have no certified librarian; and

Whereas, it is essential that every school be provided with such services if other instructional programs are to be fully effective; and

Whereas, the growing urgency to find improved ways of insuring that every child reads up to the level of his potential cannot be effectively implemented in the absence of adequate library/learning resources center services; and

Whereas, a qualified school librarian is the key to an effective school library/learning resources center program; Now, therefore,

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  A new Article 25B is added to G.S. Chapter 115 to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 25B.

"§ 115-210.  Librarians for schools. — (a) Each of the county and city administrative units in the State shall employ at least one half-time librarian."

Sec. 2.  The employment of librarians under authority of this act shall be supplemental to, and shall not supplant, any previously existing library positions that were funded from locally supported programs for library personnel or funded by the State through the State Board of Education's allocation of teachers and other instructional personnel. Librarians employed under authority of this act shall not be considered part of the allocation of teachers and other instructional personnel made under the authority of G.S. 115-59(b). The State Board of Education shall require city and county administrative units to provide evidence that the expenditure of local funds and the expenditure of State funds for library personnel are each no less than the amount of State or local funds expended per pupil for such purposes in average daily membership for the prior year.

Sec. 3.  A new sentence is added to G.S. 115-59(b) to read as follows: "Librarians authorized under the authority of G.S. 115-210 shall be in addition to the teachers and other instructional personnel allocated in these categories."

Sec. 4.  There is hereby appropriated to the State Board of Education from the General Fund the sum of nine hundred eleven thousand six hundred fifty-seven dollars ($911,657) for the 1976-77 fiscal year for support of library/learning resources center personnel.

Sec. 5.  Funds appropriated under this act shall be in addition to all other funds recommended by the Advisory Budget Commission and allocated to county and city school administrative units by the State Board of Education to provide one-half position for each administrative unit.

Sec. 6.  This act shall become effective on July 1, 1976.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 26th day of June, 1975.