Fargo educators urge board to keep counselors, coaches, librarians and SLPs on teacher contract

During the public-comment portion of the Fargo School Board meeting, educators representing instructional coaches, school counselors, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), library media specialists and school librarians urged the board not to remove their positions from the negotiated teacher contract.

Speakers said the change under review would strip employees of contractual protections, additional payments tied to the contract and collective bargaining rights. "Removing coaches from the contract changes the dynamic between teacher and instructional coach," said Leah LeClaire, an instructional coach at Lewis and Clark Elementary.

The concern spread across multiple groups. Laura Clary, an instructional coach, asked the board to "seek further clarification on the district's decision regarding the removal of instructional coaches from the teacher contract" and whether the change was mandated by state authorities or optional for districts. Carrie Schiller, a speech-language pathologist, cited a recent North Dakota Supreme Court opinion and the North Dakota Century Code but said SLPs "spend 80% of more of our day directly instructing students 1 on 1 in small groups and or integrated into classrooms," and therefore believe their work falls within teaching as described in state law.

Library media specialists and school librarians described daily direct instruction,…