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Farmington board amends 2024–25 budget and adopts 2025–26 budget after cuts and pauses to planned projects
Summary
The Farmington School Board approved a $2 million amendment to the 2024–25 budget and adopted the 2025–26 budget after approving targeted reductions and pauses—including leaving a vacant districtwide coaching post unfilled and pausing strategic-planning purchases and a community survey.
The Farmington Public School District board approved a 2024–25 budget amendment adding roughly $2 million in expenditures and voted to adopt the 2025–26 budget after targeted reductions and pauses, board members said.
The board’s amendment to the current-year budget adds about $2 million in costs including roughly $700,000 for MacBooks and licensing, $500,000 for long-term facilities maintenance work at the high school, and about $800,000 tied to contract settlements, district staff said. Administration reported an operating deficit near $3.6 million before the board’s action and recommended using assigned fund balances to cover most of the shortfall.
The vote matters because the district must balance instructional priorities with declining enrollment and rising costs. Superintendent Jason Berg told the board that state reports and final allocations were still arriving and that enrollment-driven revenue was under budgeted projections, leaving some amounts “pretty volatile.”
District staff presented the amendment and said they planned to use roughly $1.9 million from assigned fund balances set aside for technology, LTFM and other planned uses. The administration said the district had about $3.9 million in assigned funds at the time of the presentation and that the amendment would leave approximately $2.0 million earmarked for the 2025–26 budget.
Board members then reviewed a set of proposed one-time reductions and postponements to limit the use of unassigned reserves in the coming year. The board voted to: leave a vacant districtwide coaching position unfilled for the coming year (motion passed 5–1); pause the strategic-planning engagement the board had discussed (motion passed); and pause a second external survey (the Studer survey) that the district had planned to run (motion passed). The board did not approve motions to eliminate a Building Management System (BMS) health aide or to cut building supply budgets, so those items remained in the budget.
After the amendments and the targeted cuts, the board voted to adopt the 2025–26 budget as amended. The motion to adopt the recommended 2025–26 budget passed on an affirmative voice vote.
The board also adopted the 2024–25 LTFM plan (separately), and administration said roofing evaluation for the high school would continue this summer as part of the LTFM planning.
Board members said they attempted to balance protecting classroom programs with the district’s financial reality, acknowledging that some contract settlements increased 2024–25 costs and would influence next year’s budget. Superintendent Berg and finance staff said they would continue to monitor final state ADM and special-education aid figures as the district closes the fiscal year.
The board’s actions leave the district with reduced reliance on unassigned reserves but keep several operational commitments in place while pausing new consulting engagements until the district’s fiscal position stabilizes.
Details and next steps provided by the district include continued monitoring of final MDE allocations, further analysis of special-education tuition bills, and planned evaluation of high-school roofing needs this summer.
