City councilors and St. Vrain Valley School Board members Thursday night agreed that Longmont’s current library needs a major revamping to help meet the needs of local students entering the 21st century.
The two governing bodies, however, declined to endorse a proposed library district for Longmont without seeing details of the idea on paper. Board members also said little about Niwot being included in a proposed library district in Boulder that would include portions of unincorporated Boulder County.
The county commissioners earlier this month delayed putting the Boulder library district idea on the November ballot, saying a tax increase to fund the district is too expensive. They also questioned whether Niwot should be part of the Boulder district.
Councilor TIm Waters pressed the library district issue during a joint session of the city council and school board. Waters said he did not want to miss the opportunity of having Niwot kids attend a Longmont-centric library district.
“I just don’t want us to miss the opportunity of having something big here,” Waters said.
A consultant’s report that includes the Longmont library district idea is scheduled to go before the city council in May, city officials said Thursday night.
Councilor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring said the current Longmont Library is underfunded and that she wants to look at any opportunity to help the library grow. “I’m not closing the doors to any proposal,” she said. “We want to see all options.”
St. Vrain Valley School Superintendent Don Haddad said any new city library should offer more services than local school libraries.
That includes advanced technology and maker spaces emphasizing creative work. “It has to be a library that is really robust for the 21st century and engaging,” Haddad said.
Both school board members and councilors said they need to study the recommendations in the feasibility study before making any future decisions. “Let’s not assume we are going down one path,” Mayor Joan Peck said.
The board and councilers also heard from St. Vrain teacher Cara Luchies who said during the public comment period, that new teachers cannot afford to live in Longmont, Luchies said the house she and her husband - who is also a teacher - bought in 2014 for $260,000 has now been appraised at $700,000.
Waters also said the city is exploring more avenues for early childhood education. Haddad said ever district elementary school has as preschool program and the district also supports early childhood program. But strict requirements for early childhood classrooms slows the process.
