First they Battled for the Books.
Then they battled for the librarian--and the art teacher—that Cobleskill-Richmondville is looking to cut from its proposed $48.36 million 2025-26 budget in an effort to help close a $262,150 gap.
About 75 parents, students, staff, alumni, and community members rallied in front of Richmondville’s Radez School Saturday to protest the cuts, which include the librarian there, Donna Jo Cody.
Most filed out to the front lawn after a hard-fought Battle of the Books inside, a cooperative effort between the Community Library and C-R schools.
“We’re here to take our last stand for the Radez Library,” Anna Blinn Cole told a packed gym gathered for the post-Battle ceremonies.
“It’s not just the positions, it’s the programs,” said parent Caroline Myran of Seward.
But it is the positions.
If C-R goes ahead with cutting the Radez librarian, the remaining three will be left covering four jobs, certainly an impact on students, other parents said.
Julia Phillips of Cobleskill said when they’ve criticized the cuts, they’ve been told enrollment is down 30 percent.
“Then they should look at cutting administrators by 30 percent too,” she said.
Alanna Fiore, a Radez grad who’s now a teacher in Davenport, also argued any cuts should be across the board.
“Students need different things,” she said. “For some, it’s sports. For others, like my sister and I, the library was our safe space. Now, I’m a teacher–and she’s a doctor.”
Naomi Peterson, another Radez grad who works in illiteracy, said much the same thing.
“We’re not talking ‘edge’ services,” she said, “especially in a time when informational literacy is so critical. There has to be some better solution.”
The C-R school board is divided on the cuts, with some arguing that they should go deeper into the fund balance instead of making the cuts and others saying that could be dangerous.
C-R Superintendent Matt Sickles, who stands behind the budget he’s presented, said he’ll keep an eye on state aid and bring back a budget on April 7.