Looming issues fuel meeting schedule changes
Budget, goals among work session topics
by Laura Adelmann
Thisweek Newspapers
To allow more in-depth discussion of looming issues, the Farmington School Board will modify its meeting schedule beginning Feb. 27.
The board will continue to hold its business meeting at 6:30 on the first Monday of the month, but on the fourth Monday, meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m. in a work session.
Both meetings will continue to be held in the Little Theatre at Boeckman Middle School, 800 Denmark Ave., broadcast live and replayed on cable television and online.
The first topic that will be addressed in the work sessions is the budget, Farmington Schools Superintendent Jay Haugen said on Tuesday.
He said the district needs to cut $1.4 million from the budget, noting it will have spent the last $800,000 of federal stimulus funds received two years ago.
Haugen said the district will no longer be able to use those capital dollars to fund technology personnel salaries.
He cited concerns about spending money on IT salaries instead of technology equipment.
“It leaves us no money to purchase technology,” Haugen said, adding that he will not recommend asking voters for a levy referendum.
“We’re not talking about or even thinking about a levy now,” Haugen said.
Board Chair Tera Lee said she anticipates budget cuts will be a necessary topic of the work sessions.
The board also will likely discuss facilities projects, strategic plans, board goals and a survey the district plans to send to staff and residents in March.
“We are going through change,” Haugen said. “We have a lot of big things and opportunity in front of us. … We have to have time to work through the issues.”
Laura Adelmann is at laura.adelmann@ecm-inc.com.
