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GFW voters take to polls Nov. 5 on school building referendum

To decide fate of $49 million school project

GIBBON — Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) voters will determine the fate of a proposed $49,713.896 school bond referendum project on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Approving the referendum question would authorize District 2365 to issue up to $49,490,000 in bonds to provide funds for the acquisition and betterment of school sites and facilities in the district.

The proposal includes the purchase of 50 acres of land just northeast of Gibbon, north of State Highway 19 and the former Gibbon Ballroom to build a new pre-k-12 school and decommission existing schools in Gibbon, Winthrop and Fairfax.

Referendum passage allows the district to buy the land for $662,500 ($13,250/acre) from landowners Dale and Jon Forst.

At a school district bond referendum information meeting earlier this year, GFW Supt. Lonnie Seifert said approving the bond referendum to reduce the school district’s three buildings to one would save the school district at least $275,000 a year. Seifert said the school district spends a sizable amount of money now in mileage reimbursement to staff traveling from school to school.

“We aren’t very efficient now. We’re deficit spending and working on ways to cut costs,” said Seifert. “The $275,000 annual savings is conservative and could be as much as $375,000 a year. With one school, we’d save on custodial, office and food service staff. We’ve operated at a deficit for the last six years. We’ve kicked the can far enough down the road.”

Seifert said other savings with one school would come from reduced busing, maintenance and energy consumption costs.

“All three schools have issues,” Seifert said. “There’s mold in the Winthrop school that will cost $20,000 to remediate. We had two pipe breaks in Fairfax over the last eight months. Plumbers couldn’t open pipes.”

The new school project is designed for up to 750 students. Enrollment this school year is 696 students. Enrollment projections, based on actual numbers reported to the Minnesota Department of Education by the district, county birth rates, and school district historical trends are for an enrollment of 700 in 2019-2020. Projected enrollment for the next five years after that is 687, 676, 680, 686 and 677.

The school district’s net enrollment lost revenue in 2017-18 was $1,564,782. Twenty-five students enrolled into GFW and 199 enrolled out of the district. Forty-three students enrolled out to Sibley East, 32 to New Ulm, 35 to Layette Charter School, 14 to Cedar Mountain, 13 to Sleepy Eye, nine to Glencoe-Silver Lake and two to Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart.

Ballot question approval would result in a property tax increase beginning with taxes payable in 2020. Debt service levies would remain in place for 20 years.

Property owners can determine the estimated impact of the proposed ballot question on their 2020 taxes by following instructions or viewing sample property types and values on a link on the school district website. For more information, visit gfwschools.org., click on district, then tax impact calculator.

The online link includes information on the school building bond agricultural credit that took effect with property taxes payable in 2018. For taxes payable in 2020, the credit reduces taxes agricultural property owners by 50% for taxes attributable to school district debt service for all agricultural property, except the house, garage and one acre.

The credit is directly deducted from property taxes owed and applies to debt service levies for all types of existing and future bonds for construction and renovation projects. For taxes payable in 2018 and 2019, the credit was 40%.

The State of Minnesota is phasing in a credit increase to 55% for taxes payable in 2021, 60% for taxes payable in 2022 and 70% for taxes payable in 2023 and later.

The credit is paid through an open and standing appropriation, meaning no legislative action is required each year the credit is paid from the state general fund.

There are other tax credits and deferrals that may affect property owners:

• If your adjusted gross income is less than $113,150, you may qualify for the Homestead Credit Refund (aka the Circuit Breaker refund). It is available each year to homestead property owners and applies only to taxes on the house, garage and one acre of agricultural homestead property. The maximum refund is $2,770 and is also available to renters.

• A Special Property Tax Refund is available if your property taxes rise by more than 12% and more than $100 from one year to the next. There is no income limit for this refund.

• A Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral may be available for people age 65 or older with a household income of $60,000 or less. The program limits the maximum amount of property tax you pay to 3% of your total household income.

The tax impact of the bond referendum would add $66 a year to a home with an estimated market value of $50,000; $158 a year for a $100,000 home and $279 a year for a $150,000 home.

If the bond referendum passes, Seifert said the school district will try to sell the old school buildings for up to a year in order to save demolition costs, estimated at more than $1 million.

Seifert displayed a letter from the Minnesota Department of Education that gave a positive review of the proposed 20-year building bond referendum.

Combined polling places for the Nov. 5 special election are the Gibbon Municipal Building, Fairfax Community Center and the Winthrop Community Hall. Voting hours are noon to 8 p.m.

Two years ago, GFW voters defeated a two-question proposed referendum by a vote of 1,425 to 329 for Question 1 and 1,445 to 296 for Question 2.

Question 1 would have authorized the district to issue up to $37.9 million on bonds to repair, renovate, remodel and upgrade Gibbon and Fairfax schools and to buy land in Winthrop for school expansion and renovation.

Question 2, contingent on Question 1 passage, would have authorized the district to issue up to $1.6 million in bonds for property acquisition, construction and equipping of an additional gym at the Winthrop school.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).

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