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Kenyon-Wanamingo board adopts recovery plan to exit Statutory Operating Debt
Summary
The Kenyon-Wanamingo School Board unanimously approved a Special Operating Plan required under Minnesota law to address Statutory Operating Debt, committing to cut deficit spending, aim for a 5% unreserved fund balance and seek removal from SOD by FY2029.
The Kenyon-Wanamingo School Board voted unanimously Jan. 26, 2026, to adopt a Special Operating Plan aimed at removing the district from Statutory Operating Debt (SOD). Member Erica Aronson introduced the resolution and Member AJ Lindell seconded; the motion passed on a roll call vote of 6-0 with clerk Debb Paquin absent.
The adopted resolution references Minnesota Statutes section 123B.81 and section 123B.83 and directs the district to transmit the Special Operating Plan and accompanying recovery spreadsheets to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). The board agreed to a number of commitments: discontinue the practice of approving deficit budgets, reduce current-year expenditures “by all legal means possible” without negatively impacting current programs or contractual obligations, create an unreserved fund balance target of 5 percent within five years after removal from SOD, and seek to remove the SOD condition by the end of fiscal year 2029 and achieve a positive fund balance by FY2030.
The resolution also requires the district to submit preliminary budgets to MDE showing discontinuance of deficit spending prior to formal board approval each year until balances are positive, and to apply any legislative aid formula improvements toward reducing debt. The vote followed a presentation on the SOD plan by Dawn Sandbulte and Superintendent Pat Heiderscheit earlier in the meeting.
The action places formal constraints and reporting requirements on future budgets and signals a multi-year path to financial recovery for ISD 2172.
