GIBBON — A 50-year-old Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop (GFW) speech pathologist made a plea agreement in Sibley County District Court Tuesday with conditions that include she resign from her position at GFW.

Renee L. Schmidt pleaded guilty to gross misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child, in this case a five-year-old student she carried through the school to the student’s classroom. Two counts of fifth-degree assault were dismissed. She received a stay of adjudication with probation to court services for up to two years.

Case conditions include immediate resignation from her position at GFW, completing a diagnostic evaluation within 30 days and following all recommendations, contacting probation, following all probation instructions, signing a probation agreement; remaining law-abiding, pay $500 in costs within 90 days; and signing all information releases.

Maximum possible sentence for the offense is one year imprisonment or a $3,000 fine or both.

“I am pleading guilty because on Jan. 21, 2021 in the City of Gibbon, I committed the following acts,” reads the plea agreement. “(The five-year-old child) was refusing to stand up and walk to her classroom for lunch. I moved the child by placing my arms around her from the back in a bear hug hold and carried her across the school and down two flights of stairs.

“I carried her for about 1 minute and 15 seconds. This carry was inconsistent with the training I received as a speech and language pathologist at GFW schools and thus constitutes unreasonable force that was excessive under the circumstances.”

The case settlement follows an Aug. 19 Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) arbitrator ruling that Schmidt’s immediate discharge last winter was excessive and reduced to an unpaid, five-day suspension.

The BMS ruling added that Schmidt should be paid for any loss of pay and benefits exclusive of the penalty imposed and her personnel file shall be corrected to reflect the decision and award.

In addition, the conclusion read the school district should strongly consider more comprehensive and effective physical intervention and restraint review, and the training of more CPI (non-violent crisis prevention intervention) responders.

The conclusion added that stress reduction programming for teaching and administrative staff is another remedial measure for the school district to consider.

GFW Superintendent Jeff Horton released a media statement Thursday. It read:

“GFW Public Schools was recently informed of the arbitration decision in regards to the employment of Ms. Renee Schmidt. Effective September 2, 2021, she is no longer employed by the District.

“As outlined in our strategic plan, GFW will inspire a shared sense of community built on trust, collaboration, and safety, where individuals are encouraged to thrive and grow.

“The district does this by supporting and training staff on evidence-based strategies that are grounded in research, which go above and beyond state and federal requirements and are in alignment with best educational practices.

“Supporting the social emotional needs all students is a high priority in our district.

“Our staff do a wonderful job of supporting our students and keeping them safe. GFW Public Schools will continue to take the necessary steps to keep our students safe and uphold our community values.

“We love our students and we love our community.”

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@

nujournal.com).