‘No longer of use’: SCSD1 responds to social media post about unwanted books

Since March 29, it has generated 603 reactions (sad, angry and ‘wow!’ emojis), as well as 60 shares and 262 comments, slamming Sweetwater County School District No.1 for throwing the books away.

Dan Selleroli, facilities director for SCSD1, responded to the post during the board of trustees meeting on Monday, April 8.

Selleroli said that he is not a frequent social media user but has heard the complaints. He explained that to “get rid of stuff in this school district,” they must follow a process.

“We go through hoops to get rid of things,” said Selleroli, noting that the district sent an invite out to take the books. “The books we got rid of were old and smelly; no one wanted them after several walk-throughs.”

He added that he didn’t want to allow the public to go through the books because he has a construction site at that location; letting people come in at the last minute “is not conducive to running a safe operation,” he said.

“Over the past year, everyone has had more than ample opportunity to come in and look at those books,” he pointed out, mentioning that employees in the media department didn’t want them, either. “The books were old.”

A few people had asked about recycling the books in the comments.

“I have state funded people that I’m paying for out of the state fund account to do construction, whether it’s demolition, whether it’s renovation; it’s not to load up books and put them in a truck and take them someplace for recycling.

“I just don’t have the time and the money and the effort to do that. I perceive what is the most expeditious way to renovate that building and keep it on time.”

Carol Jelaco, board chair, pointed out that those books were 20, 30, 40 or more years older. She said that the administration had asked librarians and teachers to come in and look at the books.

“One of the trustees commented that their child got a book from Westridge and took it to a different school so we could utilize that book,” said Jelaco, noting that they utilized as many of the books as they possibly could throughout the district. “Some of these had not been checked out of libraries for years. It is what it is, but the process was followed and the books that were sent out had multiple chances to be used.

“There was no use for them.”

Kelly McGovern, SCSD1 superintendent, explained that at a certain point the information in books becomes dated or the books themselves are damaged. She explained that Westridge Elementary received the books over the years from different configurations in the district. For example, many years ago, the schools were set up to be K-6. Then they were reconfigured to be K-4 and now they are K-3. When the schools adjusted over the years, she said, the books were passed around and they finally end up in a place that becomes a storage spot for them.

“They sit and sit and sit,” said McGovern, mentioning that the district offered the books to K-6, as well as the Head Start program and early pre-K. “The kids simply were not interested in the books. A lot of them fell apart and they get an odor to them.”

She said, “We can’t get kids to truly use these books if they are not engaged in them. They were books that our classroom teachers have seen over the years. I’m not going to say that there might not have been a newer book in there — I think that would be a false thing to say, but we’ve tried to have our teachers take a look at them and we have over the years.

“They simply do not want them.”

She added, “They want new resources that match new standards, that engage kids, that have research based best practices to use with their kids and to teach them thinking skills; these books simply did not meet that core.”

McGovern said she signed off on the plan review, following district policy. The books were disposed of because they were surplus.

“They were obsolete, and they were no longer of use for the district.”

She said she would sign it again to prepare the building for next year.

“We could have our Desert View kids come in (to Westridge) if the board approves that, but we’ve got to keep moving forward,” she urged. “If you want to increase literacy and numeracy scores, you’ve got to engage our kids and give the best tools for our teachers. That is exactly what we did.”