GIPS Board Brief September 11, 2026

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 September 2026 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• Carlos Barcenas was not present but gave prior notice.

Welcome to the Board, Angie!

Representation, student voice, and school pride — that’s the driving force for the new GIPS Board of Education Student Representative, Angie De Orta.

For De Orta, stepping into the board position is a natural connecting point of her GISH experience. Having spent the last three years engaged in a number of student activities, she recognizes the discussions taking place at the Board level help shape the student experience across GIPS.

"It's important because... it's kind of like paving a path for other people. It can encourage others to do the same.” Angie said. “The decisions that are being made are affecting students, so it's so important to have a student who cares actually be there to help in the process of making those decisions."

Angie was sworn-in as the new Student Representative for the GIPS Board of Education. She will serve for the 2026-27 school year.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

The Grand Island Education Association (GIEA) continues to represent the bargaining unit covered by the 2026-2027 Master Agreement and is recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for negotiations for the 2027-2028 contract year.

Per annual practice, GIEA formally requests that Grand Island Public Schools recognize the Association as the exclusive bargaining agent for the 2028-2029 contract year for the unit it presently represents.

This was shared as an information item and will be up as an Action Item vote at the October Board meeting.

Hear Dr. Carrie Kolar's presentation HERE.

Dr. Carrie Kolar, GIPS Chief of Human Capital Management, shared an update on training requirements for district staff.

Highlighted in the Legislative Bill #1329, the following legally required trainings were proposed for the 2026-27 school year:

• Behavioral Awareness
• Dating Violence Prevention (may test out)
• Suicide Prevention
• Safe Seizure Schools
• Anti-Bullying
• Pupil Transportation (only those transporting students)
• Blood Borne Pathogens
• Online Safety (may test out)
• McKinney Vento
• Sexual Misconduct (may test out)

Most of these trainings have been in-place for a number of years at GIPS.

This was shared as both an information item and an action item so that, if approved, the district may implement the adjusted requirements in the current school year.

Hear the full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS CFO, presented a potential contract renewal with the district's transportation provider.

GIPS has used local bus and transportation outfit, Holiday Express, for a number of years. The newly proposed agreement would commit GIPS to continue their partnership with Holiday Express through July 2031.

This service secures essential transportation for regular, special education, newcomer/LEP, and Families in Transition students while placing all vehicle, staffing, maintenance, and insurance responsibilities on the contractor. Furthermore, it protects district finances by capping future annual rate increases at 2% and including a non-appropriation clause that allows termination without penalty if sufficient funding is not authorized.

This was shared as an information item and will be up as an Action Item vote at the October Board meeting.

Hear the 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.

Proposed changes would be to remove the section that repeats the legal statutes that are already covered in the opening section of the policy. This would help ensure the policy is more evergreen and aligned with legal expectations.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Replacing the word "Citizenship" with "Civic Engagement" to ensure consistency across Board policies.
• Removing specific guidelines that are mapped out in legal statutes to avoid redundancy or possibility of change over time.

The basic practices of daily exhibitions of the Pledge of Allegiance and other similar practices will continue in our schools.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Updating the Pre-Kindergarten language to be consistent with our practices of enrolling 4 year olds, and 3 year olds that qualify for special education services.
• Removing a statement about the English Language Learner program as it did not apply to the purpose of the policy and did not align with our current practices.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes at this time.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Only proposed change would be to add a sentence that specifies needs due to injuries or medical conditions. The newly worded policy, if approved, would read as:

"Homebound instruction will be provided to a student whose education needs are most appropriately and effectively met by such a program due to an injury illness, documented medical condition or district- approved circumstance making regular attendance for an extended period of time difficult. The amount of instructional supportive service provided to the homebound program shall be determined in relation to each student’s educational needs."

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Removing details about specific holidays as to keep the policy generic in nature so it may be more helpful in governing.
• Specifying other practices in detail that may or may not change throughout the years.

The newly worded policy, if approved, would read as:

"Grand Island Public Schools will continue school ceremonies and observances, which have become a tradition and a custom of the education program. Such ceremonies or observances shall have a secular purpose and shall not advocate or sponsor a particular religion. Students who do not wish to participate in these activities may be silent during the ceremony or observance or receive permission from the principal to be excused from the ceremony for religious reasons."

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes at this time.

This was shared as a first read item and will be up for approval at the October Board meeting.

September 2026 Report from the GIPS Foundation:

• On Tuesday, August 24, The Foundation Staff and Board met with organizations operating under the Foundation’s umbrella. This meeting was to review policies and procedures and build relationships. Boosters clubs, special project clubs, and other ongoing philanthropy-funded ventures attended the meeting.
  
  
• The Foundation has opened the application for the inaugural Innovation Tank. This year we will be granting up to $5000 per grant for projects that will benefit students during the 2026-27 school year. The grant requests will be accepted through September 28.
  
  
• The 5th annual Harvest Gala will be held on September 24 at Riverside Golf Club. Doors will open at 5:30PM. Tickets are available at GIPSFoundation.org. The Heart of the Foundation will be awarded to Eric & Connie Allen and Mark & Jordan Allen for their remarkable leadership and support of the GIPS Foundation. Larry Baker (GISH Class of ’92) will be the Mission Moment speaker.
  
  
• Nominations are still open for Legendary Educator and Hall of Honor. The nomination form is available on the website GIPSFoundation.org
  
  
• The Foundation Board will meet on September 17, 2026.

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

Highlights from Angie's report include:

GISH UPDATES:

• Musical - The Fall Musical for the year is "Seussical The Musical” including about 180 cast members.Their hard work will first be showcased Friday October 30th. Tickets go on sale Mid-september and can be purchased on www.gips.org/gishtheatre.
• Cheer - The GISH Cheer team is have a “GLOW with the Islanders” kids camp where the kids will be performing at the end of the 2nd quarter of Football game on October 2nd
• Band - The band performed their show opener last Friday on the first football game. Their show “THe Machine” was written and composed by the Band Director Dr. Lee
• Boys Tennis - The boys tennis team had a sweep against Norfolk last week, ready for what’s to come!
• Football - The Varsity team broke a school record with a 52 yard field goal from Xelim Vicente.
• Boys Cross Country - The cross country team started their season off at the Vince Zavala invite with three top 10 medalists on the boys team
• Girls Cross Country - The girls team finished 5th overall
• Softball - Our softball girls are working hard to have a good season!
• Volleyball - The volleyball team had an amazing first game with a sweep and are super excited to continue showing off their hard work..

EVENTS AROUND GIPS:

• DeMoine Adams, former Nebraska football player and NFL standout, visited Westridge middle school for an assembly to launch the start of the year. He introduced the theme of WE > me to the 6-8th graders at Westridge middle school.
• The 3rd grade classes within Grand Island Public schools all had an amazing learning experience on their field trips to the Nebraska State Fair!
• We recently received a donation through the GIPS Foundation of a photo from 1921 of the original Grand Island High School with staff and students serving as a reminder of how strong the continuity within Grand Island public schools has been.
• Walnut Middle school is hosting its first ever show choir camp at the high school to provide new opportunities for students. They are also hosting their first Family Glow Run on September 25th with yard games and a pop-up stand from The Soda Shop.
• The GISH volleyball team visited Star Elementary to welcome students to class and hosted games at their morning assembly, building stronger connections to empower the future of GISH!

STAFF SHOUT-OUT:

GISH Social psychology Teacher: Mr. Walkemeyer.

He is a teacher who cares about his students greatly. He has been learning Spanish for a couple of years now because it’s important to him that his students not only are able to understand him, but because he likes having conversations and taking the time to get to know every single one of his students.

Hear Angie's full report HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

See above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include removing a couple of paragraphs that map out specifics to the program. As things can change from year to year, the paired down policy would better reflect the current practice of maintaining consistency and compliance with the Nebraska Department of Education.

This was shared as a first read item at the August Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

After discussion with the Board, the policy committee took a second look at the policy and made a few adjustments clarity on the process of exceptions.

This was shared as a first read item at the August Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

After discussion with the Board, the policy committee will take some time to discuss the terminology used in the policy name and see if we may find another option for the term “Non-English Speaking Students”.

This was shared as a first read item at the August Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to remove “The” from the name of Grand Island Public Schools.

This was shared as a first read item at the August Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 8 - 0