Grossmont Union High School District librarians will be back on the job next school year as part of a last-minute settlement. It’s the latest development in a legal battle that’s lasted nearly two years. Jason Balisteri’s being reinstated and said it feels so good. “I’m happy to rig ht a wrong and get back to serving students and staff,” said Balisteri. The Mt. Miguel High School educator is one of nine Grossmont Union High School District teacher-librarians getting their librarian jobs back. Grossmont Education Association President and Teacher-librarian, Stephanie Macceca was instrumental in getting the school district to close the book on its 20-month legal battle with its teacher-librarians. The school board voted unanimously to a settlement that reinstates all nine of the district’s librarians after the positions were eliminated last February. “They’ve made the agreement with us to avoid going to a hearing because the evidence is overwhelming,” said Macceca. The district is not admitting any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The agreement keeps the district from a hearing that was scheduled to start next week. Grossmont Union High School Board President Robert Shield issued a statement saying: “This agreement is focused on the future and serves the best interest of our East County community following a challenging period. I appreciate GEA’s partnership in reaching a resolution that represents a meaningful step forward and will help us work together to bring our Portrait of a Graduate to life.” The legal standoff started in February of last year, when cuts were made because the district says it couldn’t afford to pay for the added cost of the positions. Librarians say that’s not true. It was just a façade. In reality, they say the decision was part of “divisive culture war politics” in the classroom. They say that included bullying and discriminating against LGBTIQQ+ students as well as trying to censor library books. “We’re not forcing anybody to read certain books or performing transgender surgeries in the aisles, like some people think we’re doing. We are truly just there to help out everybody,” said Balisteri. “They’ve really taken the focus off of students. And that’s really, it should be that they should be the center of every decision we make, and they haven’t been,” said Macceca. The district says the settlement does not include backpay, penalties, or other financial relief. There’s a civil case pending to address those grievances. The teacher-librarians will get their jobs back for the 2027 school year, guaranteed through 2029. ...read more read less