GIBBON — The band plays on in the effort to reduce the Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) School District statutory operating debt by closing a school this fall.

A special school board meeting to consider a resolution to close the GFW Intermediate School in Fairfax ended in a 3-3 tie Monday. Another special board meeting was set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, in an attempt to decide the issue.

Board members Phil Klenk and Mike Kuehn of Winthrop and Jason Haas of Gibbon voted to close the Fairfax school this fall. Board members Marisa Lee and Becky Vos of Fairfax and Gibbon board member Kelsey Odegard voted against the measure.

“I considered every angle. To say it’s a tough decision is an understatement,” Odegard said before the vote. “I love the Fairfax offer (four years of free school utilities, school playground equipment and $10,000 to help move the district technology hug from Gibbon to Fairfax). We need to plan for the future of GFW. I don’t consider Fairfax’s offer a bribe.”

Klenk said student enrollment began declining seven or eight years ago.

“Our older buildings are bleeding us dry,” Klenk said. “We have to close a building. We need an operating levy, then a bond referendum.”

Lee said the district would save the most money by leaving the Fairfax school open and closing the Gibbon school. She questioned the accuracy of earlier cost estimates that closing the Fairfax school would save the most money.

“The ends (Fairfax, Winthrop) have more options,” Lee said. “We need the gyms in those schools. The Fairfax gym is busy.”

Lee thanked the City of Fairfax and Fairfax Economic Development Authority (EDA) for making an offer to help keep the Fairfax school open.

“All buildings have options,” Haas said.

“The most savings come from keeping Fairfax open,” Vos said. “We have to save our district.”

Kuehn called the school district “a patient in very serious condition. The Fairfax building has leaky pipes that need work now.”

“All buildings have needs,” Vos said.

It was also mentioned at the meeting that the Gibbon school was not big enough to handle any future enrollment growth.

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