When It Rains It POURS!!!!

Feeling very good, I went to work this morning to an office of six departments employing 24 wonderful staff members. This afternoon when I left, it was raining, I felt miserable and so helpless as I left a devastated office where on July 15 there will only be 11 staff members. My county is experiencing the same financial shortfall that is happening all over the country and to balance the budget my office was reduced by more than half. The positions have been eliminated and just a month ago during the first round of cuts I lost two staff members. Total of 13 eliminated with only 11 left. To begin with it seems unfair and lopsided for my department to take a hit of over 15% of the cuts that central office received. Secondly, it sends a message loud and clear -- the library media program is not valued. And that is the very reason I came to this county nine years ago -- because they valued the library program and saw that the program was an integral part of the instructional process and that we made a difference in student achievement. Doesn't seem to be the case any longer!
All operations of Library Media Services were together in my department. My office which housed the instructional component, the Professional Library, Review and Evaluation Center, The Production Center, Acquisitions, and Technology for the Integrated Library system. All operations need to continue, but how one person, a few with a secretary, can continue to fulfill the responsibilities I have not figured out yet. Who will do them if we can't? Will they get done? Efficiently? Effectively? There is no doubt in my mind that those who made the cuts do not know what we do -- or do not understand what we do -- or do not want to understand what we do -- or do not care what we do -- or perhaps all of the above.
I feel the need to head to The Outer Banks to sort things out. The rain only made the gloom worse - I wanted to run an errand, but with the rain and traffic and my mood, I just turn around and headed home. But as I was driving home - I saw a beautiful full rainbow - and the rainbow when I first saw it ended right at my office building. I hope that was an omen that all the staff affected, who in my mind are wonderful valued employees will find that rainbow with a "pot of gold" waiting for them. There is a reason for everything -- I really do believe that -- but in this instance I haven't accepted this devastating blow!
Score: 13 for them - 0 for school libraries and our students!