Farmington Board tentatively approves $86.86M 2026–27 budget after daylong page-by-page review
Summary
At a Jan. 31 budget workshop, the Farmington Board of Education tentatively approved the superintendent's recommended $86,858,554 2026–27 budget after a line-by-line review; major drivers include a 9.42% increase in health/benefits, contractual teacher salary increases and higher special-education and transportation costs.
Farmington — The Farmington Board of Education on Saturday tentatively approved a $86,858,554 operating budget for the 2026–27 school year after a two-session, page-by-page budget workshop.
Superintendent Janani presented the recommended spending plan as an investment in priorities including special education, staffing adjustments tied to enrollment changes, and technology. "This resulted in a reduction from initial proposals of roughly $1,200,000," Janani said as he described the 0-based budgeting process used to refine the recommendation. He also called out the major cost drivers: special-education needs, contractual salary obligations and rising benefits costs.
Why it matters: The tentative vote sends the budget forward for final consideration at the board's next meeting while giving the public and board additional time to review details. The spending plan funds staffing and program priorities but relies on several moving parts — grant offsets, teacher turnover assumptions and state reimbursements for special-education placements — that administrators said require continued monitoring.
What the board approved: After administration walked the board through the budget book, page by page, members moved and approved tentative motions for each object or grouped pages. The board tentatively approved the teacher-salary line at $38,614,559 and a proposed 4.23% increase in the overall salary line driven largely by contractual wage steps and negotiated increases. Administration told the board it raised its teacher-turnover assumption from $150,000 to $325,000 to better match recent experience and reduce the risk of a large year-end variance.
Administration also highlighted a recommended 9.42% increase in health-care and benefits funding to maintain the district's self-insurance program and to reflect claim trends. Janani summarized district totals earlier in the presentation as $86,961,855 (a 4.47% increase) but the board relied on updated, on-screen figures during motions and tentatively approved the updated grand total of $86,858,554.
Board scrutiny and follow-up requests: Several board members pushed for clearer breakdowns. "I continue to struggle with this line item every year," said board member Angela, referring to the salary line and historical year-end surpluses; she asked for a more detailed split of the $1.2 million change into contractual increases, FTE changes and step movement. Administration agreed to return with a clearer decomposition at the board's next meeting.
Transportation and contractor performance: The board tentatively approved transportation services at $5,207,712. Administrators said the increase reflects a 5% contractual adjustment with the district's transportation vendor, Specialty, offset in part by grant revenue for certain out-of-district transports and by route efficiencies. Officials acknowledged that service problems earlier in the contract year generated discussion about fines and performance clauses, and said they have seen measurable improvement after regular oversight meetings.
Special education and tuition: Board members and special-education staff described how out-of-district public and private placements can drive volatility in tuition lines. Administration noted that public-tuition costs (for magnet or other public placements) and private-tuition costs are forecast using student-by-student projections and historical trend lines; private tuition remains the larger exposure at an estimated $2,031,234 in the recommended budget.
Major projects and grants: The board also reviewed facilities and major project pages, and administration said some projects (bathroom partitions, courtyard work, carpeting, other items) were shifted to a state district-repair grant to reduce operating impact; the board tentatively approved the major-projects group after those offsets.
Votes and next steps: The board took tentative votes on each budget book page and the updated grand total, approved an out-of-cycle unpaid leave request for an employee (Lisonbee Fitzpatrick) and recessed to executive session during the workshop to discuss non-affiliated contracts. The board adjourned and agreed to continue the budget discussion on Feb. 2 for any outstanding follow-up items.
What to expect next: Administration will return Monday with requested clarifications — including a breakdown of the teacher-salary changes and further detail on major-project accounting and grant offsets — before the board considers final adoption.
Notable quote: "To sustain high returns, this year's budget targets specific growth areas," Superintendent Janani said. "These investments will move us ever closer to our goal of seeing every Farmington student become an empowered global citizen."
