AUSTINTOWN — The school board Thursday heard from a delegation of students concerned over changes with the media center at Fitch High School.

Media center specialist Patricia Hartsough’s position had been eliminated, and the center was going to remain open, but run by Fitch’s English teachers.

Juniors Alex Butrick and Daniel Varley have collected signatures to petition the board to reinstate Hartsough.

“We got 85 signatures on a paper petition in just a day-and-a-half,” said Butrick.

They feel the loss of a dedicated staff member in the center is a detriment to the students’ academic success and personal development.

“The media center was a very safe place to go because Mrs. Hartsough kept things under control,” Butrick said. “The alternative system is to have teachers run it. It is not a teacher’s job.”

Because the Fitch students were behind the effort, Hartsough felt she should speak as well. She said she always made time for a student.

“The students aren’t here today to fight for hoodies or anything like that,” she said. “They are here because they want to keep their media center.”

She said whenever a student has a bad day or feels picked on, they need a safe place to go and someone to talk to. She said both were provided at the center.

“I always had a flexible schedule,” she said about being there for the kids.

“This has been a difficult thing to do,” Senior Principal Tim Kelty said. “We are going to staff the center with our English teachers five days a week, every period. We will have study halls in the media center to give students a research time.”

He added no books or pieces of material had been moved out of the center, and the center will not be moved to another location. The neighboring room in the center, Kelty said, would remain as a haven for students who need a safe place.

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