The Grand Island Public Schools "Board Brief" is an online monthly publication sharing the Board of Education meeting highlights, updates, campus recognitions, and more.

Here's a recap of the December Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• NOT PRESENT: Mr. Dave Hulinsky was not present but gave prior notice.

The GISH eSports Team recently made their way into the school history books by winning the program's first ever NSESA State Championship.

At last night's Board of Education Meeting, the team and Coaches were recognized for their exemplary accomplishment in finishing an undefeated "League of Legends" season and winning the State Title.

GISH eSports Team

Coaches:

• Benjamin Marten
• Luis Mejia

Students:

• Sean Carroll
• Jaxstin Deines
• Damian Kiker
• Katelyn Marten
• Lincoln Roundy
• Alexandra Widga

Also pictured are GISH Principal, Calvin Hubbard, GIPS Superintendent, Matt Fisher, and Board of Education President, Hank McFarland.

Congratulations, Islander eSports, we're proud of you!

Message from Mr. Fisher:

"Education, in many ways, is marked by change. When I was a student in public schools many things looked different than when my kids attended school, which, in turn, looks different than how we care for our students today.

Unfortunately, seasons of change can often mean the end of something that brought rich meaning to countless people for many years.

And that brings us to the future of Seedling Mile Elementary.

After months of careful consideration and conversation, Grand Island Public Schools district administration made the recommendation to the Board of Education that the district not operate Seedling Mile as an Elementary School for the 2025-26 school year."

Read the full update HERE.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full Board presentation HERE.

FAQs are also available at the button below.

After hearing public comments, district recommendations, and having discussion around the future operational statue of Seedling Mile Elementary, the Board of Education has decided to hold the Action Item vote on Tuesday, December 17th's already scheduled Special Board meeting.

Notice of the Special Board Meeting was published in The Grand Island Independent on December 10th.

The agenda for the Special Board meeting will be to host onboarding for the new GIPS Board members from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

At 5:15 p.m., the Board will convene with the intention to have final discussions and make a decision about the operation of Seedling Mile Elementary for 2025-26. The Board will provide time for public comment at the 5:15 p.m. meeting time before the voting action item.

Mrs. Cara Kuhl, GIPS Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, shared the district's bi-yearly report on American Civics.

The report allows for the Board and the community to stay up to speed on classroom experience for teachers and students surrounding social studies related curriculum and resources for Kindergarten - 12th Grade. Mrs. Kuhl's report also helps the district stay in compliance with Nebraska PL 79-724 and GIPS Policy 2230.

Highlights from the report include:

• Overview of curriculum resources and classroom tools.
• Notable American Civics projects for students during key grades.
• How GIPS meets state curriculum standards.
• The positive impact of social studies related discussions in classroom settings.
• And more.

Hear Mrs. Kuhl's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS CFO, shared the annual request for the Grand Island Education Association (GIEA) to be recognized as the bargaining unit for the upcoming school year (2025-26).

This process takes place each year and is part of the standard operating protocol for the district and GIEA. Part of the protocol includes having formal Board recognition and approval.

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at January's Board meeting.

Hear Mr. Harden's full presentation HERE.

Dr. Summer Stephens, GIPS Associate Superintendent, shared a proposal for the GIPS Academic Calendar for the 2025-26 school year.

The GIPS Calendar committee meets regularly in the Fall (starting in September) of each school year to begin the work of mapping out the upcoming school year calendar. The committee includes one representative from each school, as well as representatives from the following groups: GIEA, Administrators, Leading for Learning Department, Special Education, Success Academy, Early Learning Center, Activities (GISH & Middle Schools), and the Board of Education.

Common questions raised regarding the calendar this year are:

• Secondary start and end times
• Creating calendars for multiple years at a time
• Professional learning on Fridays vs Mondays
• early dismissal before Winter Break

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at the January Board meeting.

Hear Dr. Stephens' full presentation HERE.

Mr. Matt Fisher, GIPS Superintendent, shared an update regarding an opportunity to expand school baseball opportunities in the community.

Heartland Lutheran High School has a few students who are interested in pursuing high school baseball as an extracurricular activity. Since Grand Island Senior High (GISH) already operates a baseball cooperative with Northwest Public Schools and Grand Island Central Catholic, Heartland Lutheran asked if they may be included in the cooperative as well.

GISH is more than happy to include Heartland Lutheran into the baseball opportunities. Part of that process is to have the Board of Education review and approve the expansion of the baseball cooperative.

This was shared as both an information item and action item as December's Board meeting as the approval needs to be finalized before January.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared the latest installment of district policy reviews and proposed updates. Descriptions of the proposals may be found immediately below.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full presentation on policies HERE.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Per recommendation from the district's legal council, an updated edition of the policy has been drafted. Much of the previous edition of the policy would be replaced with updated, legally approved language to cover the current operating protocols of budgeting for the school district.

Additionally, the policy would be expanded to include components of other policies (below) to be more efficient.

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at January's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

The recommendation is to remove this policy all together and combine it, instead, with the above mentioned "Annual Operating Budget - 4210" policy.

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at January's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

The recommendations would be to amend this policy to include some of the components in the above mentioned "Annual Operating Budget - 4210" policy.

Also, the amended policy would specify that "the Superintendent shall make the tentative budget available for public inspection and arrange for a public hearing on the tentative budget as required by law."

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at January's Board meeting.

Regular review on an existing policy.

The only recommended change would be to remove the word "The" before "Grand Island Public Schools.

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at January's Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would include:

• Adding cybersecurity as a preventative measure as this policy was mainly drafted before internet security was a widespread area of focus.
• Update the "control system procedures" language to read "implement a control system to ensure safeguards for preventing property loss, damage, or theft".
• Add the component stating: "All equipment, whether acquired in whole or in part under a federal award, with a current fair market value of $10,000 or less (per unit) may be retained, sold, or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the Board's Sale and Disposal of Property policy."

This was shared as an information item and will be an action item at January's Board meeting.

Matt Fisher, GIPS Superintendent, shared an update from the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.

Highlights of the report included:

1. The Foundation’s online scholarship application went “live” on December 1st. Students will be able to apply for 205 PLUS scholarships through this one application.

   
   
2. The Foundation hosted our Scholarship Fair on November 20th at the GISH. The fair included scholarship application presentations from the GIPS Foundation as well as booths manned by several colleges, Education Quest, and GEAR UP helped students and parents with FAFSA.
   
   
3. The Foundation Board also heard progress reports from the following committees:

• Board Development/Nominating Committee.
• NEW Board Members were voted on and accepted: Jennifer Worthington. Yetzy Bermudez and Robert Alexander.
• New GIPS Foundation Board Members will begin their terms in January 2025

Hear the full Foundation report HERE.

Owen Williams, GISH Senior, was elected by his peers to represent them on the Board of Education as a Student Representative. At each Board Meeting, Owen shares a student report.

Highlights from Owen's report include:

ACTIVITIES

• Boys Wrestling kicked-off their season with a win over Columbus and a 2nd place finish at the Kearney tournament. Senior Alex Gates got his 100th career win at GISH.

• Girls Wrestling started strong with a win to open their season.

• Flatwater Fracas - Girls Wrestling look to win the Fracas for the 4th straight year.

• Boys Basketball started their season playing some close, competitive games.

• Boys & Girls Swimming has held their first meet of the season.

• Unified Bowling won 2nd place at division and earned an invitation to the State Tournament.

• Islander Power Lifting has had an impressive start to their season as well with a number of athletes looking to qualify for nationals.

AROUND THE DISTRICT

• Elementary schools are showcasing their holiday concerts.

• GISH One-Acts are this weekend (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday).

• Over 30 students earned their diplomas today at Midterm Graduation.

STAFF SHOUT-OUT:

• Miss Jen Kramer - Social Studies Teacher @ Westridge Middle School

Hear Owen's full report HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

• Winter activities have kicked-off at GISH.
  
  
• Middle School Winter Activities has been in full swing for a little while now.
  
  
• It’s been great to see the winter basketball games at our Middle Schools and also catching our Elementary holiday programs which many are hosted at our Middle Schools.
  
  
• The GISH Band and Choir concerts were this week as well. It’s always amazing to see the progression our students make from Middle School performing groups to how great they sound at the High School level.
  
  
• A group of our District Leaders and three Board members met with Senator Lippencot (State Legislature). Next week we’ll be meeting Senator Quick. These are meaningful opportunities for us to share with our Elected officials what’s important to us as a district as we support our staff and students.
  
  
• We met with the Governor’s office on a video call today. They inquired to learn more about our “Cell Phone Free” policy we have at GISH. I anticipate a statewide mandate of phones in schools to be a topic that gains a lot of conversation. We’ll certainly be listening to see what folks are saying between “local control” and “statewide measures”.
  
  
• Midterm Graduation was a wonderful event. It’s always great to see those smaller ceremonies to really see the proud moments for our graduates and their families.
  
  
• We attended the State School Board Conference. I shared a presentation about school finance which went well.
  
  
• Congratulations to Board Member, Mrs. Lisa Albers, who was elected to the Executive Board of the NASB State Board.
  

Hear Mr. Fisher's full report HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, shared an update with the Board at last month's meeting regarding the budgeting calendar for the next fiscal year.

The proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget Calendar outlines the key dates, events, and responsible individual or group(s) for the next fiscal year's budgeting process. The calendar document shows the budgeting steps charting from October 2024 - September 2025.

The full proposed calendar may be found on the agenda item linked above in this newsletter.

This was shared as an Information item at November's Board Meeting and was presented as an "approve" item. It will is not an "Action item" as the calendar is a living document that will remain flexible throughout the year based on needs and schedules.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Please see above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Review of an existing policy.

A proposed change would include removing the required questions for a Board Member Vacancy Candidate interview and instead simply state: "Interview questions will be asked in the same manner for each applicant to ensure consistency in the interview process."

This was shared as an Information item at November's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No changes are being proposed.

This was shared as an Information item at November's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would be to some of the language around absolute statements including:

• Instead of saying "achieving the greatest educational program for dollars expended" it would read "most beneficial educational program..."
  
  
• Instead of saying "establish maximum efficient procedures" it would read "establish efficient procedures".

This was shared as an Information item at November's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No changes are being proposed.

This was shared as an Information item at November's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No changes are being proposed.

This was shared as an Information item at November's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Update to an existing policy.

The only change would be to add the following two sentences to the existing lengthy policy:

"Electronic communication between staff and students may only take place through school email or district approved communication platforms.""

This was shared as first read in April then additional review was made. This update was brought back for consideration as Information at November's Board Meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

The Board was convened into an executive session for two purposes:

• Negotiations with GIEA
• Superintendent's Contract

Action to the accepted the proposed changes to the 2025-26 Negotiated Agreement was presented.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Action to accept the Superintendent's Contract was presented.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0