Farmington board approves budget realignment, cuts cell-phone stipends and pauses counselor, health-aide layoffs

Farmington — The Farmington Public School District school board on March 3 approved a set of budget realignment measures intended to reduce a multi‑million dollar operating shortfall, voted to eliminate district employee cell‑phone stipends and accepted calendar and policy changes — while agreeing to delay proposed cuts to a Bachman counselor and a health aide for further review.

Board action came after more than an hour of public comment and committee reports outlining reductions, revenue increases and targeted investments. Superintendent Jason Berg and finance committee members presented details of the recommended changes, and board members debated which reductions to adopt and which to pause.

The central finance presentation showed that the district received an unexpected increase in state special‑education revenue of about $1,200,000 and that the district anticipates deficit spending of roughly $1,400,000 in the current year. Presenters said the district holds about $3.9 million in assigned classroom fund balance; after the proposed adjustments they reported an expected remaining assigned balance of about $2,400,000. The finance committee recommended using about $2.3 million of the assigned fund balance to offset the remaining deficit in 2025–26.

Public commenters urged the board to preserve student supports. Chris Gadoff, a district teacher and current counselor, said cutting counseling and nursing support would harm students. "As a teacher, it's really hard to teach students who are not physically or mentally well," Gadoff said. Paul Putt, a parent of two, said he welcomed discussion of restoring a multi‑age program and urged broader community engagement ahead of future levies: "We need people out…