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, curriculum-aligned lessons, digital-citizenship work and schoolwide literacy initiatives. "Media specialists are vital to the educational mission of Fargo Public Schools," said Paula Wyler, a library media specialist at Longfellow Elementary, adding that reclassification would "misrepresent what we do for our children and the lasting impact we have." Jasmine Breitbach, a school librarian, said she provides "direct instruction ... for research and inquiry methods, study skills, technology skills, and critical engagement with texts," and questioned the district's basis for deciding how much time must be spent "in a classroom" to qualify as teaching.

School counselors also urged preservation of the negotiated agreement. Adrienne Eider, a counselor at Fargo South High School, and MJ Anderson, a course captain for high school counselors, said their job descriptions include classroom lessons and instruction at all K–12 levels. Eider said the Supreme Court ruling does not "mandate this change" and that organizations such as North Dakota United and the North Dakota School Boards Association have advised boards that removing positions is discretionary.

Laura Christiansen, speaking for the Fargo Education Association, said FEA initially identified a spreadsheet of 129 positions subject to reclassification and that the list had since changed. Christiansen urged the board to keep the current bargaining unit intact and to negotiate any changes with FEA rather than unilaterally reclassifying positions.

Board leadership acknowledged the comments and said no final decision has been made. "You do have our ears and we are going to be discussing this. No final decision has been made. We do have this on an agenda item for an upcoming governance committee," the board president said during the meeting.

What happened next: Board members and staff said the issue will receive further review in governance committee meetings and other board forums; the district has not adopted a reclassification action at this meeting.

Votes at a glance: There was no formal vote on reclassification at this meeting; the board moved the topic to additional committee discussion rather than taking immediate action.

Speakers:[{"name":"Leah LeClaire","role_title":"Instructional coach, Lewis and Clark Elementary","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:06:43","transcript_line_range":[1,10]}},{"name":"Laura Clary","role_title":"Instructional coach","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:09:51","transcript_line_range":[11,18]}},{"name":"Carrie Schiller","role_title":"Speech-language pathologist","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:11:22","transcript_line_range":[19,30]}},{"name":"Paula Wyler","role_title":"Library media specialist","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:14:36","transcript_line_range":[31,40]}},{"name":"MJ Anderson","role_title":"Course captain, high school counselors","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:17:44","transcript_line_range":[41,44]}},{"name":"Adrienne Eider","role_title":"School counselor, Fargo South High School","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:17:44","transcript_line_range":[45,60]}},{"name":"Jasmine Breitbach","role_title":"School librarian","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo Public Schools","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:20:53","transcript_line_range":[61,80]}},{"name":"Laura Christiansen","role_title":"Representative, Fargo Education Association","affiliation_type":"nonprofit","affiliation_name":"Fargo Education Association","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:24:55","transcript_line_range":[81,100]}},{"name":"Katie","role_title":"Board president (presiding)","affiliation_type":"government","affiliation_name":"Fargo School Board","first_reference":{"timecode":"00:24:43","transcript_line_range":[100,105]}}],