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Board reviews $4.9 million in staffing requests including counselors, student facilitators and school safety officers
Summary
Board members and staff discussed a package of staffing and program requests totaling about $4.9 million that included additional elementary counselors, 3 school safety officers, and a principals association request to expand student facilitator positions; administrators urged prioritization given limited one-time revenue.
Board members reviewed a portfolio of staffing requests presented by administrators that together totaled roughly $4.9 million and could not be funded within the district’s current projected revenue without drawing on reserves.
Why it matters: board and staff said most of the requests are intended to reduce administrative burden on principals, expand counseling and safety coverage, and free teachers to focus on instruction. Administrators emphasized competing priorities — hiring certified classroom teachers, covering special-education costs and maintaining capital projects — and asked the board to prioritize which requests to fund.
Highlights of the packet discussed by staff and the principals association included: - Elementary counselors: a principals association request would add full-time counselors at elementary sites; staff said the request as presented totals multiple positions and that some Title I schools currently supplement counselor funding. - Student facilitators: the principals association asked for facilitators in all elementary, intermediate and middle schools. The full request was described as 19 additional facilitators at an estimated cost of about $1.25 million per year; staff offered a lower-cost alternate that would add fewer facilitators (eight additional split/shared positions) at an estimated $526,000 annually. - School safety officers: staff proposed adding three school safety officers to cover intermediate campuses; the officers would be shared between two sites on rotating schedules.
Board members raised several implementation concerns: several said adding facilitator or counselor posts risks pulling certified teachers out of classrooms if the positions are filled by current classroom staff; others asked for data-driven prioritization so the district does not reallocate scarce certified staff from classrooms. Administrators replied they would return with options for phased implementation and proposals that reduce the risk of losing certified classroom coverage.
Administrators also told the board they will factor in phase-two staffing realignment savings or costs when returning with a final budget recommendation.
Ending: staff asked the board to consider additional workshops to prioritize requests, and to provide direction before staff finalizes the FY26 recommended budget.
