Board approves grant‑funded navigator, staff day increases and behavior facilitator; some votes 5–1

At the Feb. 17 meeting Faribault Public Schools approved several staffing actions recommended by the finance and special‑education leadership.

The board approved a new 1.0 FTE college and career navigator position, funded by the Grow Your Own student and adult grants and to be based at Faribault High School while shared with the Faribault Education Center. "This would be a 1 FTE position, fully grant funded," Cassie Riopelle said, adding the role will be student‑facing and expand capacity to place and support aspiring educators in the district. The motion passed 5–1.

The board also approved adding 15 working days to the assistant director of special education’s contract, after leadership described a roughly 26% increase in special‑education child counts since 2017 and an expanded set of administrative duties (paraprofessional hiring, compliance, and homelessness liaison duties); district staff said the state special‑education funding mechanism reimburses approximately 80% and federal funds will backfill, generating an estimated net benefit to the general fund. That motion passed 6–0.

Finally, the board approved a new 1.0 FTE behavior facilitator to build proactive behavior systems, model classroom strategies, mentor teachers, and reduce referrals; district staff said funding will come from federal special‑education funds and a voluntary CE/SE approach to mitigate an MDE disproportionality concern. The motion passed 5–1.

All actions were presented with funding explanations and will be implemented by district staffing and special‑education departments; where positions are grant‑funded the board noted the positions depend on continued grant availability.