GIBBON — The Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) School Board unanimously approved a statutory operating debt (SOD) plan at a special board meeting Tuesday.

The resolution came on a motion by Winthrop board member Phil Klenk, seconded by Gibbon board member Jason Haas to reduce 3.6 full-time certified teaching staff, cut the superintendent positon to a 0.5 position. It also includes a proposal to close the Fairfax intermediate school building beginning in the fall of 2020.

One of the certified staff reductions would be in an elective area impacting the intermediate and high school. The remaining reductions would reduce a district-wide mentor position and elementary teaching staff.

The SOD plan to be submitted to the Minnesota education commissioner this week includes similar certified teaching staff and classified staff cuts and a hard freeze of all district employee salaries for fiscal year 2022 and 2023.

A public hearing on the proposed Fairfax school building closure is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 3, in the GFW Primary School Gym in Gibbon.

Superintendent Lonnie Seifert said the school district’s SOD position developed due to a combination of factors including declining enrollment averaging 2.34% per year over the past eight years, increased operating costs of three older buildings and increased staffing costs.

School district expenditures topped revenues by $623,736 in fiscal year 2019, according to the school district’s special operating plan. The fund deficit would shrink to $572,690 in budget year 2020; $175,112 in fiscal year 2021; go into the black by $192,112 in fiscal year 2022 and $452,962 in fiscal year 2023, according to the plan.

“We would have no money for contingency (emergency) costs,” Seifert said. “If we wanted to have an operating levy (to reduce budget cuts), the State would have to approve it. Yes, I would like to cut the (budget) reductions.”

The board briefly discussed a possible bond referendum and took no other action on it.

“My feelings are the State would frown on us having a bond referendum now. There are costs associated with it. I wouldn’t support it at this time,” Seifert said. “My feeling is we need to get an operating levy passed first.”

Gibbon board member Kelsey Odegard voiced support for an operating levy referendum.

“We need to fix things in whatever buildings we decide to keep open,” Odegard said.

“You could look at a two-question bond referendum. It would take some pressure off the general fund budget,” Seifert said. “We’ve got to do something about that at some point. The operating levy we have in place isn’t going to do it.”

The board met in closed session for 15 minutes to review and discuss Seifert’s evaluation before ending the meeting.

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