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School board reviews levy-funded plan for curricular resources and additional instructional coaches
Summary
Superintendent Burke presented roughly $1 million in levy-funded enhancements including curricular assessments (~$100,000), a district communications position, a district math coordinator and full-time instructional coaches at elementary buildings; board members debated staffing levels and rollout before receiving the items as informational.
Superintendent Burke told the Farmington Public School District board the administration is proposing a package of levy-funded enhancements that would expand curricular resources, assessments and instructional staffing across the district. "We're looking at about a $100,000 in curricular assessments," Burke said, and later described the overall package as "a hair over $1,000,000 of investment."
The proposal includes continued funding for literacy resources and assessments, a recommended dedicated communications position (presented in the packet at approximately $9,000), a district-level math coordinator and an instructional coaching FTE at each elementary school. Burke said the instructional coaches would provide sustained, classroom-embedded support and help align curricular resources and professional development across buildings. He also proposed an additional multilingual teacher FTE to reduce caseloads that in some areas are approaching 40 students per teacher.
Board members questioned how the curricular materials and assessments would align across grade transitions and whether math resources are consistent from fifth to sixth grade. Becky, an instructional staff presenter, said the district has used Math Expressions for many years and that updated materials arrived late in the prior year, creating a need for scope-and-sequence work and coaching to support teachers. Board members discussed alternatives to hiring one full-time coach per elementary building versus incrementally adding half-time positions; proponents said a full-time coach simplifies follow-up and continuity, while others favored phased implementation to manage ongoing levy-funded commitments.
The board did not vote to adopt the funding package at the meeting; instead it agreed to "receive the informational items as presented," allowing the administration to proceed with next steps in budget development. The administration said more detailed staffing plans and cost breakdowns will appear in later budget documents as the district proceeds toward its April and June budget milestones.
The proposal will be part of the district's next budget cycle and is contingent on final budget adoption and ongoing fund availability.
