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Farmington board outlines levy-funded hires and curricular investments to expand coaching and multilingual support
Summary
Superintendent Berg proposed spending a portion of recently approved levy revenue on curricular assessments, a district communications role, district-level instructional coordination and instructional coaches at elementary schools, and an additional multilingual teacher; the board asked clarifying questions about alignment, costs and hiring before accepting the recommendations as informational.
Superintendent Jason Berg presented a package of levy-funded enhancements the district plans to phase in using revenue approved last fall, saying the items are intended to strengthen universal classroom instruction and reduce the need for intensive interventions later.
Berg said the proposals include an ongoing commitment of roughly $100,000 for curricular resources and assessments, a suggested district communications position budgeted at about $90,000, a 1.0 FTE district instructional coordinator, an additional instructional coach FTE at each elementary, and another multilingual (ML) teacher FTE. "We are asking for 1 FTE to support district wide math support," Berg said, and added the overall investment is "just a hair over $1,000,000." He framed the investments as a way to improve Tier 1 instruction so fewer students require Tier 2 interventions in the future.
Board members focused questions on scope and sequencing. One member asked whether the curricular assessments and resources were for literacy or math; Berg said the $100,000 figure largely continues current literacy investments but that math alignment work was needed. "We have an elementary curriculum in place — Math Expressions — but the transition points (fifth-to-sixth) need tighter scope-and-sequence work," Berg said.
On coaching and staffing models, administration distinguished interventionists (who work directly with students) from instructional support (who work primarily with teachers). An instructional coach, Berg said, "provides sustained, personalized, classroom-embedded professional learning, helps teachers dig into their data and supports implementation of curricular resources." Hiring criteria discussed included math content familiarity for coaches; Becky, an elementary leader, said the district would benefit from coaches who "know that material pretty well." Board members debated whether to add full-time positions immediately or to phase smaller 0.5 FTE increments into buildings; supporters warned that half-time splits can complicate follow-up and continuity.
Administration described the rollout as intentional and tied to other district work (the Read Act implementation, FastBridge assessments and existing literacy coaching). Berg noted the district has already started high-school registration and some pathway classes are drawing more interest than capacity allows.
The presentation closed with administration offering to provide more classroom-level detail when requested; the board accepted the information and reserved detailed budget approvals for the formal budget process.
Ending: The board treated the package as informational and moved forward into the formal budget calendar; specific hiring and contract decisions will return for action during the 2026-27 budget cycle.
