Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Literacy means resiliency, stability and survival for Del Norte County, Terrin Musbach wrote in a letter she plans to send to state library officials.

Musbach, program coordinator for Del Norte Reads, read her letter before library trustees on Monday about six weeks after the California State Library recommended the local program not participate in the state’s literacy program.

But, while trustees agreed to partner with Musbach and petition the state to let Del Norte Reads rejoin California Library Literacy Services, they also received a letter of resignation from their library director, Phyllis Goodeill.

“I love the library and I don’t want to leave, but my health is requiring that I make some adjustments,” she said.

Though Goodeill said her resignation would take effect May 31, she agreed to stay on as interim director until trustees hire a replacement. She said she’s active with the California State Library Association and the Association for Rural & Small Libraries and can help the Del Norte Library District Board cast a wide net to find someone new.

Goodeill told the Board that she’s happy to stay on until a new director is appointed, though her hours will be reduced from 40 to 30, but she felt relieved at no longer “being completely responsible for the library and for Del Norte Reads.”.

“I’m feeling really responsible that we lost funding because of mistakes that I made,” Goodeill said, referring to a CLS review of Del Norte Reads in October 2024 and a subsequent report it released in April. “I don’t ever want to put myself or anyone else in that position again.”
After receiving Goodeill’s resignation, the three trustees who attended Monday’s meeting turned their attention to the library director job description. Goodeill recommended that trustees add a sentence in the description about requiring the library director to oversee safety and security at the library.

Board President Andrew Napier said he felt it was important to add that the director would manage or provide oversight for Del Norte Reads and any grants and funding that comes with the literacy program.

Napier said he also thinks the library director position should be a salaried position. He said he’s already done some preliminary research, but wanted to double check his information with county officials.

“When you have to come out at 2 a.m., it seems to me that this should be a salary position,” Napier told Goodeill. “I know there are specific regulations as far as what jobs are allowed to be made salary and what jobs aren’t.”

The Board of Trustees decided to table approval of the library director job description until the next meeting. Trustee Tamara Brooks was absent.

Trustees on Monday also postponed approval of a fifth member to the Board. Though they received applications from Helen DuVernay, Jim “Doc” Belardi and Dan Schmidt, none of the candidates attended the meeting.

Musbach’s letter is in response to an April 7 report California State Library officials released following its October 2024 review of Del Norte Reads.

In its report, CSL stated that the library district had at least $54,597 and up to $63,729 in unspent CLLS dollars out of a total of $127,245 awarded for fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24.

The CLS report stated that the library Board was “unclear about how much of its grant funds it has spent and how much is remaining.” The state raised concerns about discrepancies in information it received during its review and in the library’s mid-year and final reports. Verbal information Del Norte County Library staff provided to the state was also different from what was provided during the October review as were fund balances the library director emailed to the state in March.

“This suggests that at least one set of information has been reported incorrectly to the State Library,” the CLS report states.

In addition to recommending that Del Norte Reads not participate in the state literacy program and return its unspent CLLS funds, the state library is urging the local district to pay for an independent audit.

In her letter to CSL representatives Beverly Schwartzberg and Allyson Jeffredo, Musbach requests the state library allow Del Norte Reads to reapply for the CLLS program “in tandem with the recommended audit.” She described the audit as an opportunity to bring Del Norte Reads into full compliance with state requirements and as a guide as the library district prepares its final financial report for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The audit will also help the Del Norte County Library District determine how much CLLS dollars are remaining across its adult literacy, family literacy and English as a Second Language funds, Musbach said.

The literacy coordinator also outlined the role Goodeill played in seeking help from California State Library officials.

“A lack of coherent staffing (dating back to pre-covid) has caused an accumulation of unintentional inconsistencies in program tracking,” Musbach wrote. “This recent review has provided us with needed clarity to proceed in compliance.”

Since the CSL review, Del Norte Reads is a dedicated department within the library district with a “clear and transparent chain of oversight,” Musbach wrote in her letter. This includes regularly reporting to the Board of Trustees and collaborating with the library director on the program’s maintenance and financial resources.

Musbach also outlined the program’s accomplishments since she began as literacy coordinator in August 2024, which include recruiting tutors, creating a matching system for tutors and learners as well as holding special outreach to Native American and low-income families.

On Monday, Musbach said she had also been researching other possible funding opportunities for Del Norte Reads. One avenue she is pursuing is through the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation. Musbach said she submitted a donation request for $10,000.

Musbach said she has also begun working with the University of California Cooperative Extension.

“We can partner with them and they will do the grant writing and everything and I just have to give them the data,” she said. “We’re going to start working on one that’s $150,000, but that won’t be any time soon. I think it’s due maybe six months from now.”

Funding through Klamath Promise Neighborhood is also a possibility Musbach said she’s pursuing.

During her regular report, Musbach said that 27 people are enrolled with Del Norte Reads. The number of trained tutors is 11, she said.

The program has also logged 56 tutoring sessions between April 14 and May 19, Musbach said.