ISD 917 superintendent highlights special-education services and partnership opportunities
Summary
Dr. Mike Favor, superintendent of ISD 917, briefed the Farmington board on special-education programs (SUN), partnerships and a current caseload of about 187 students, and invited district input on site expansion and collaboration.
Dr. Mike Favor, superintendent of ISD 917, told the Farmington School Board that the intermediate district serves students from birth to age 22 with unique needs and described core values and partner work intended to expand opportunities for students.
Favor said ISD 917’s SUN (Students with Unique Needs) program has a significant wait list and the district is exploring East–West site options in the region, including conversations with neighboring districts such as Bloomington and Burnsville to identify suitable facilities. He reported that, over the past five years, ISD 917 served as many as "289 students" in some years and currently serves about "187" students locally in a mix of special-education programs and itinerant services.
Favor described partnerships with organizations including Rev Academy and the Minnesota Humanities Center, called out career and technical education and middle/early-college options at DCTC for some students, and said the intermediate district aims to complement rather than compete with member districts.
Audience members and board members thanked Favor for the update. A probation officer in the audience, Kelsey, described day-to-day collaboration with district educators and called the partnership "invaluable" for placing students into treatment or alternative programs. No formal board action was taken on the update; the presentation was informational.
The board requested continued communication about program capacity and potential site options for SUN expansion.
