These changes come as the district faced a $304 million shortfall in its budget for the 2013–2014 school year. The city agreed to borrow $50 million just to get schools open as Superintendent William R. Hite had threatened to delay their opening without those funds.

In addition, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission (SRC) passed a measure [PDF] during a contentious meeting on August 16 allowing principals to hire back staff based on the needs of the school—and not based on seniority. Parents and educators both voiced opposition to the measure by the SRC, which replaced the school board in 2001 with appointees from the governor and the mayor.

“I am heartbroken that we are having a conversation today because our government has abandoned an investment in public education,” says Daren Spielman, president and CEO of the non-profit Philadelphia Education Fund, who gave his comments during the meeting.

How school librarians may fare in the coming days is unclear. At least one school librarian whose position was transferred from an elementary school to a high school was told librarians may be hired back should the $50 million came through. Still, this is in a district that saw assistant principals, secretaries, school nurses, and guidance counselors—among other staffers—laid off at the end of the 2012–2013 school year.

“Apparently, they pretty much let principals decide how funds will be allocated in each building,” says Deb Kachel, co-chairperson of the legislation committee for the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA). “So it’s very uneven which schools will have librarians and which won’t.”

Pennsylvania saw a 6 percent decrease from the number of school librarians working in K–12 schools between the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 school years, according to statistics from the PSLA. For example, Harrisburg, PA, which had eliminated its certified school librarians for the 2012–2013 school year, has now eliminated all library staff as well—and is hoping to use volunteers to run its school libraries for the new school year.

Each year, PSLA runs a staffing survey across its 500 school districts starting in the fall. Eileen Kern, PSLA president, says she does not have a feeling how the numbers will come out this year. But while she sees urban areas, including Philadelphia, losing school librarian positions, other areas are also suffering, with 62 percent of school librarians in the state serving more than one school.

“That’s pretty alarming to me,” says Kerns, who nonetheless sees the urban school districts being hit the hardest. “I know it’s a drastic situation in Philadelphia.”

Carol Heinsdorf agrees. As former president of the Association of Philadelphia School Librarians and a national board certified teacher, she is watching the situation unfold in her city wondering how these changes will, in the end, affect the 136,000 school children set to head to classes next month.

She adds, “The ability of school librarians in Philadelphia to work effectively to promote academic achievement is wiped out.”

“I’ve always been told there’s not enough money,” says Carol Heinsdorf, the former president of the Association of Philadelphia School Librarians and currently employed as a certified school librarian in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). “And now we’re bring told there’s not enough money. So what’s changed? I will say certified school librarians have not been a priority of people in position of authority affiliated with the SDP.”

To date, there are just 43 certified school librarians in more than 250 schools, says Heinsdorf. And SDP is looking at potentially cutting these positions, along with a reported 3,000, more to try to balance the 2013–2014 budget. Repeated calls to SDP were not returned over the course of a week, and a request to speak with Lori Shorr, the mayor’s chief education officer in Philadelphia, was declined by email.

But the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) says that the district is trying to get cuts equal to $133 million from the union through salary reductions, increases to health insurance, longer days and reduced prep times, according to George Jackson, PFT’s communications director.

With the union’s contract set to expire on August 31, the PFT has started negotiating with the district—even before Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. presented the possible budget in mid-April. But the funds the district hopes to reap from the union are only part of what’s needed, with SDP asking the state for an additional $120 million and the city for a further $60 million, with hearings held before the City Council on this week. It’s a scenario that is upsetting to many involved.

“We’re talking about money just to maintain a status quo that’s underserving our students,” says Jackson. “Most of our schools don’t have full time libraries already. We’re already talking to our kids to make them more accountable, and to get everything out of them. To not have a school librarian is a huge detriment.”

Brett Schaeffer, communications director at the Education Law Center, a legal advocacy and non-profit educational group in Philadelphia, testified Tuesday before the City Council on the impact that losing 100 school nurses two years ago had on Philadelphia school children. The proposed budget would cut the remaining nurses even further, going from one nurse for every 1,000 students to about one for every 1,500 students, says Schaeffer. And the affect on losing all school librarians? Not thinkable.

“There’s clear evidence of students’ achievement due to full-time accredited school librarians,” he says. “The idea that they just go to zero school librarians is just not acceptable.”

While requests for funding are likely to continue to be discussed, schools are likely starting to look at what the new situation may require of them. Individual schools will be the ones deciding what they can —and cannot—afford, with principals set to receive just enough money, beyond their salary, to pay for teachers based on their contracted classroom size of 30 students for K–3, and 33 students per class for older grades. If extra funds are restored, however, few believe that school librarians will be a priority.

“If there’s art, music, or a librarian, it’s a principal’s decision,” says Heinsdorf. “But the first thing they’ll want is a secretary.”