The Pierce County Board of Education declined to approve payment of $15,400 in funds to the Pierce County Library in a move that left supporters of the local facility stunned.
School superintendent Dara Bennett recommended paying the funds at the school board’s monthly meeting last Thursday night. The meeting was delayed from Monday due to Hurricane “Debby”.
Board chairman Duward Boatright made the motion to approve the funding, but it was met with silence from the other board members.
School board attorney Dan Bennett Jr. declared the motion died for lack of second.
First district member Kirby Malone, second district member Mitch Hall, third district member Chip Griner and fourth district member Wendy Puryear all said they preferred to keep funding within the system.
“I’m in favor of keeping (the money) within the system to pay for our students, our teachers and our facilities,” Malone said. “If we pay money in to the (Three Rivers System, we (as the school board) don’t have any control over that.” Malone and Griner went out of their way to express support for the library, but both said the funding needs to come from the county.
“If our citizens want to support the library, I encourage them to do so through funds from the taxpayers at large or individually,” Malone said.
Hall added that the decision had nothing to do with the Three Rivers or Okefenokee Systems.
“My position is we should spend school tax money within the school system and not subsidize outside projects,” he said.
Pierce County Library Board Chairperson Sandra Parrish, Library Manager Lavonnia Moore, regional director Clint Moxley and library supporters Tom Spanos, Tom Strait, Denise Smith, Belinda Adams and Carolyn Still were in attendance at the meeting.
Parrish declined comment. Efforts to reach Moxley for comment on the decision were not successful.
The lack of action was a stunning reversal from the general concensus among the three funding agenices for the library in recent months.
The school board, Blackshear and the county commission jointly fund the library.
While no school board officials commented publicly on the record in the past, County Manager Raphel Maddox had indicated all three governments would fully fund the library if the local branch would end its affiliation with Okefenokee Regional Library in Waycross. Local officials and citizens had made their opinions known on ending affilition with Okefenokee after a long-running dispute over sexual content on murals, LGBTQ displays and bathroom policies within the Okefenokee System.
Blackshear had contributed its share of the budget money, but the school board withheld its funding and the county cut its funding $25,000 in fallout from the controversies.
The local library board voted to join the Three Rivers Regional Library System in May. Three Rivers took over operations of the local library July 1.
Moxley gave a presentation to the school board during its work session Thursday, August 1.
Moxley gave an overview of changes at the Pierce County Library since the July 1 takeover and also gave information on Three Rivers’ governing policies and bylaws.
Moxley said Pierce County Library has two new part-time staff members and operating hours have been restored.
Moxley said he was not going to re-visit the controversies of the past, stressing instead that libraries are to be for the whole community.
“Everyone is welcome at the library,” he said. “We do not push an agenda. We are neutral.”
In response to questions from Malone and Griner, Moxley stressed that Pierce County’s library board — and not the Three Rivers Regional Board — would be in charge.
“The local community here in Pierce County will have control over its library,” he said.
Moxley said the Three Rivers System would only set policies binding on its member libraries where required.
“For instance, we need to have a uniform policy for all libraries for such things as fines and social media policies,” he said.
Moxley said other decisions would be left to the Pierce County Library Board.
“They will know what is best and what is needed for their community,” Moxley said.
In addition to Pierce County, the Three Rivers System includes Brantley, Camden, Long, McIntosh and Wayne Counties.
