GFW School Board approves 2020-21 calendar

By Denise Bonsack, Publisher

The GFW School Board met on Monday, January 13 in Fairfax. A large crowd assembled in the gallery.

The meeting began with the approval of the agenda and the election of officers. Phil Klenk remains the board chair, while Mike Kuehn retains his position as Vice Chair. Marissa Lee was elected to serve as Clerk again for the upcoming year and Becky Vos will continue to serve as treasurer.

As part of their organizational actions, the board reviewed which members serve on the various committees and made adjustments where necessary. The official newspapers, depositories, auditor and legal counsel remained the same as in the past. Board member meeting stipends and reimbursements also remained the same.

Chair Klenk welcomed the visitors and opened the floor for public comment, noting that each individual would have two minutes to speak. 

Harlan Helgren of Fairfax was the first to speak, noting that fixing financial issues always means hard decisions, but also stated that we’ve been kicking the can for too long, and ultimately the students and the taxpayers will be paying for past financial mismanagement. He encouraged the board to work to unite GFW in all decisions and discussions.

Corey Albrecht, a 2016 GFW graduate from Fairfax was next to be heard. He spoke of the education quality at GFW and noted that the district has eliminated many of the classes that he needed to be successful in college. The removal of programs is cheapening the education at GFW and while there are many good teachers, there are some that are not being held accountable and the students are paying the price.

Several additional members of the public addressed the board, talking about the need for programing, that we need to behave like one district and solve these problems together, and that closing a building on either end of the district is not wise.

The board moved on to approve the Consent Agenda, which contained the following personnel changes: 

-hiring Lindsey Berdan as an ECFE Teacher;

-hiring Jim Templin as Head Baseball Coach;

-hiring Tara Rettmann as Head Cross County Coach.

Superintendent Lonnie Seifert gave his report, beginning with the facilities issues.  He indicated that even after the mold remediation in the basement of the Jr./Sr. High School building, they continue to find evidence of mold in the sewing room. So they will continue to investigate where that is coming from and work to remove it. In the Intermediate building they were forced to close down the faculty bathrooms, and the repairs would require tearing out tile and breaking cement to get to the problem, so those bathrooms will remain closed. Finally, there are several fan motors in the Primary School site that are going out and will need to be replaced. 

In Committee Reports, Klenk reported that negotiations with the certified staff are wrapping up. The language has been finalized and they are just working on the numbers now. The certified staff negotiations are getting started as well.  

Under Discussion, Seifert explained the Statutory Operating Debt for the benefit of the public in attendance and then reviewed the process they are working through now with the Department of Education (MDE). Seifert indicated that the district’s general fund balance is roughly $550,000 deficit currently. MDE sent out a spreadsheet for the administration to use to put together a three-year plan for reversing the deficit. The plan must be submitted back to the state by the end of January and must be approved by the board, so a special meeting will be necessary. The board scheduled this meeting for Tuesday, January 28 at 6:30 pm in Gibbon.

Moving on to Action Items, High School Spanish Teacher Amy Bastian requested permission to take students on a trip to Mexico in June of 2022. The trip would be open to 10-12 students that have had at least two years of Spanish or can demonstrate a proficiency in the language. The board approved the trip.

Seifert reviewed the proposed 2020-21 district calendar based on the options he presented last month and feedback he has received since then. The board approved the calendar, but removed June 7 as a student contact day. 

Next up, the board discussed closing a building starting in the 2020-21 school year, and running another bond referendum. For details on that portion of the meeting, see the article on page 1.

The board will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 28 at 6:30 pm in Gibbon. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 10 at 6:30 pm in Winthrop.