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Fairview SD 72 superintendent outlines personnel plan to address declining enrollment, proposes K–8 administrative restructure
Summary
The superintendent presented a personnel plan that responds to falling K–3 enrollment by reducing some class sections, retitling the instructional coach role, adding a part‑time speech pathologist (potentially shared with neighboring Parkview), and restructuring school leadership to a K–8 principal with two assistant principals.
The superintendent presented the district’s personnel plan for the 2026–27 school year, saying persistent declines in kindergarten through third‑grade enrollment will reduce some grade‑level sections and require administrative adjustments. The plan, reviewed at the Fairview District 72 Board of Education meeting on March 18, proposes shrinking some fourth‑grade sections from four to three and reducing kindergarten from three sections to two pending registration figures.
"We have experienced decreasing enrollment in kindergarten through third grade," the superintendent said while summarizing the personnel plan, and added that the district will wait for final registrations before restoring additional sections. The superintendent noted the district typically adds a section if registrations increase but said it would be “irresponsible” to approve staffing without enrolled students.
The plan also recommends changing the title of the instructional coaching position to ‘‘curriculum and instructional coordinator’’ to reflect evolving responsibilities; Rebecca, identified in the audience as the district’s instructional coach, was mentioned by the superintendent during the presentation. The district recommended adding a part‑time speech‑language pathologist to meet rising preschool speech needs and said it is exploring a shared hire with Parkview to combine two part‑time roles into one full‑time position.
In addition, the personnel plan formalizes an administrative restructuring discussed previously: moving from two primary principals (K–4 and 5–8) to a single K–8 principal supported by two assistant principals. The superintendent said the change aims to concentrate instructional oversight across grades K–8 and free principals to focus on higher‑level district priorities.
The superintendent also reported a retirement in the transportation team and said the district does not plan to replace the retiring bus driver immediately as a cost‑saving measure; the district will rely on existing spare vehicles and routes for now.
The personnel plan was included in the meeting’s consent agenda and was approved by a unanimous roll‑call vote. Board members did not request additional information during the meeting.
What happens next: the personnel plan was approved as read; the district will monitor kindergarten registrations and follow up if enrollment changes justify restoring sections or adjusting hires.
