09/12/2023: Board of Education Recap

FMS Strategic Plan: During the Board of Education’s work session, there was a comprehensive discussion on the formal roles teachers have in the decision-making process regarding school initiatives. The principals of Farmington High School and Piedra Vista High School, Rocky Torres, and Kelly Thur, explained their systems for the teacher teams to provide valuable feedback. You can find more information about our Strategic Plan and Goals 1.3 and 1.5 here.

Celebrating Excellence: The Board celebrated music teacher Ms. Marletta Newman. Now retired, Ms. Newman taught music at Mesa View Middle School for 22 years and was recently inducted into the New Mexico Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.

Farmington Municipal Schools won the “Golden Chile” Award from the New Mexico Grown Coalition for supporting local food activities. Click here for more information.

Field Trip: The Board approved a field trip for the 3rd-grade class at Animas Elementary School to visit the Navajo Nation Zoo in Window Rock, AZ. The day trip is taking place at the end of October and is tied to their CKLA Unit on Animal Classification and their reading of “Where the Wild Things Are,” by writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak. The students in Ms. Nicole Wayne’s class will also visit the Navajo Nation Museum to see their Code Talker exhibit, which aligns with teaching New Mexico history.

Construction: The Board approved Resolution 2023-R14 for CMAR Projects. Chief of Operations Ted Lasiewicz shared that a committee of five individuals evaluated and selected Jaynes Corporation. The CMAR fee to be paid for all three projects is 3.75% of the total Maximum Allowable Construction Cost, which is $3,430,218. General Conditions for the Preschool Academy East, Heights Middle School, and Mesa Verde Elementary School projects is $4,972,795 for a total CMAR Fee of $8,403,012. The pre-construction fee for all three projects has been negotiated to be $599,970.

Policy Readings: The Board discussed making changes to district policies A-0352, 0400, B-0025, E-3100, and E-3111. Approval for these policies will be requested at the October 10, 2023, regular meeting. For more information, visit our website. A policy reading ensures that a new policy or a policy change is reviewed and discussed before it is adopted by FMS.

Top photo: Ms. Marletta Newman received well-deserved recognition from the FMS Board of Education for being inducted into the New Mexico Music Educators Association Hall of Fame. Superintendent Cody Diehl and Daniel Fear, our Coordinator of Fine Arts, join in honoring her outstanding contributions to education.