GIPS Board Brief October 10, 2025

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 October 2025 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• All Board members were present.

The road map for the next five years in Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) will be anchored in student success.

At the October 9th Board of Education Meeting, GIPS Superintendent Matt Fisher presented the vision for the district’s next strategic plan. The plan, shared as an information item with the Board, is intended to serve as a guide for the school district from 2025-2029.

“80. 90. 100: Empowering Student Success” will be a dedicated Strategic Plan that seeks to bring together district staff, students, families, and the community to focus efforts on educating Grand Island’s students.

“One of the key considerations of this Strategic Plan was that it be simple and something everyone can understand.” Matt Fisher, GIPS Superintendent, said. “We want our community to be able to say ‘80. 90. 100.’ We want our community to be able to think about how our students will be showing growth.”

The new GIPS Strategic Plan will maintain the district’s narrowed focus that has been adopted in the last couple of years.

Read the full update HERE.

Dr. Danielle Buhrman, GIPS Academic Coach & Math Curriculum Coordinator, shared a shared a progress and process update on the current Kindergarten - 5th Grade Math Curriculum Pilot taking place at four our Elementary schools.

The district's current elementary math resource, Origo Stepping Stones, is approaching the end of its prepaid material cycle, necessitating a review. After a thorough evaluation involving teachers, coaches, and administrators, a consensus emerged that a new math resource is required to better align with best practices and state standards. Back in the April 2025 Board Meeting, it was approved to implement a curriculum pilot program at four of our schools to thoroughly vet the two selected resources for consideration.

The KG-5th Grade Math Pilot for 2025-26 is:

• Starr Elementary & Stolley Park piloting Amplify Desmos Math
• Lincoln Elementary & Newell Elementary piloting Eureka2

Where are we at in the math pilot timeline?

• July 2025 - Leadership Training
• August 7th - Met with each piloting building to discuss desired outcomes
• August 8th - Staff training with curriculum publishers
• August 29th - Follow-up training for staff on resources
• September 2025 - Continual on-site implementation support and coaching in each building

What's next in the timeline?

• November - Eureka2 will provide on-site implementation and PLC support
• January - Amplify Desmos Math will provide on-site implementation and PLC support

How will we select which curriculum gets adopted district wide?

GIPS Leading for Learning Department has established a Math Curriculum Selection committee made of up 26 members:

• 2 teachers per grade level
• Special Education representatives
• English Language Learner Teacher representatives
• Gifted & Talented representation
• Academic Coaches
• Principals
• 12 additional non-pilot members

The committee will review materials, feedback from teachers, families, and students, and work together to identify the best choice of curriculum for all GIPS Elementary schools. Goal for selection is to have a pick made by February 27th, make a recommendation to the Board, and implement full district curriculum resources for the 2026-27 school year.

Overall, the feedback to the two piloted resources has been positive. General feedback includes teachers confirming:

• Resources provide good alignment to state Math standards
• Conceptual development of content and reasoning skills
• Increasing opportunities for students to respond in speaking and writing
• Students sharing their thinking
• Less of the students mimicking the teacher and more cultivation of students owning their learning

More information and resources on the GIPS Elementary Math Curriculum Pilot are available on the district website and the button below.

Hear Dr. Buhrman's full presentation HERE.

Dr. Carrie Kolar, GIPS Chief of Human Capital Management, shared the formal annual request from the Grand Island Education Association (GIEA).

Each year GIEA requests that the Board recognize the association as the official bargaining unit for the district covered by the current year's Master Agreement.

This was shared as an Information Item and will be up as an Action Item vote at the November Board meeting.

Hear Dr. Kolar's full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Dan Petsch, GIPS Director Grounds & Safety, and Ms. Emily Petermann, GISH Astronomy & AP Physics Teacher, shared an update with the Board regarding necessary updates to the GISH Planetarium.

Grand Island Senior High School is one of only a very few high schools in Nebraska with a dedicated planetarium space.

The current planetarium is approximately sixty years old and requires significant upgrades to meet current educational standards and technological advancements. Its outdated equipment and infrastructure limit our ability to provide engaging and up-to-date astronomy and science education.

An upgraded planetarium would offer an immersive learning environment, enhance STEM curriculum, and provide unique educational opportunities for students across all grade levels and the broader community. This investment aligns with our strategic goals of enhancing educational opportunities and preparing students for future careers in science and technology.

The GISH Planetarium impacts the school experience for nearly every GISH student, curates deeper course learning opportunities for students taking specific courses, and gives learning opportunities to Elementary students during astronomy unit field trips.

Overall, the upgrades to the Planetarium would allow for better experiences for students, more current technology, adding variety of learning modules, and mitigate maintenance needs in the future.

Overall, the project would cost approximately $1million. The project has been earmarked as an item to complete for the district for some time. The funding is available to tackle the project as this time without needing to be borrowed or without hindering other programs.

This was shared as both an information and action item so that, if approved, the process could start right away with the project.

Hear the full presentation HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, shared the annual update on the next year's budget calendar.

Per standard operating procedure, the district continues to forecast, adjust, and operate under a budget. Best practice efforts of looking ahead to the next year helps keep the district in strong financial footing. The Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Calendar outlines the key dates, events, and responsible individuals or group for review.

Highlights from the proposed budget planning forecast include:

• Regular monthly Facilities & Finance Board Committee meetings
• Weekly District Leadership Team meetings
• Regular reporting at Board of Education meetings
• Yearly Negotiations with GIEA
• Responding to legislative sessions
• Staff Planning
• Programs Planning
• And More

This was shared as an Information Item and will be up as an Action Item vote at the November Board meeting.

Hear Mr. Harden'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.

The only proposed change would be to remove the "The" listed before the formal name of Grand Island Public Schools.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to update one sentence to clarify that Substitute Teachers "will have an opportunity to" participate in an annual orientation session. Previously, the policy did not include the phrase "will have an opportunity to".

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to remove the "The" listed before the formal name of Grand Island Public Schools.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to remove redundant language. Overall, the process for review and action towards termination would remain the same.

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

Regular review to an existing policy.

Each year the district is required by law to present and approve the numbers that GIPS would accept for option enrollment for the next school year.

The only proposed change to this year's adoption would be to decrease the Middle School acceptance number from 25 down to 20.

The rest of resolution would be the same as last year's.

This was shared as both a first read and action vote item to ensure it is adopted by the required deadline.

Regular review of an existing policy.

The original intent of the policy is to map out the the expectations for a process of credit recovery. Proposed language changes would include updating the process to map-out how the district uses online learning for student credit recovery.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to add one clarifying detail to the policy:

"In additional to the regular school day the phone out of sight expectation extends to before and after school instructional time."

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

1. The Foundation announced its gratitude for all the outstanding support for our 4th Annual Harvest Fundraiser. We are appreciative of all the support of GIPS Staff, Administration, and the GIPS Foundation Board for the overwhelming support of the community. Thank you to everyone for your stupendous generosity. We were grateful for the outstanding support of both the Heart of the Foundation recipients, Ron & Dan Eakes, and our Mission Moment speaker, Brian Levander.
   
   
2. The GIPS Foundation closed the Classroom Grant application, and the grants will go to the Reviewing committee on October 1st, 2025. We had amazing submissions, and this will be a challenging year to decide who will receive grants. The Foundation will be surprising the recipients at the end of October.
   
   
3. The GIPS Foundation’s college scholarship online application will open on December 1 and is accessible on our website: gipsfoundation.org. We are foreseeing a record-breaking year of submissions and the amount of granted Scholarship funds.

Katherin Xicara, 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 Katherin's report include:

Hear the full report HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

• This week was Parent + Teacher Conferences week. Teachers from around the district have reported to me that participation in this year's Fall Conferences are strong. Good turnout from families.
  
  

• As our standard practice, we have a comp day tomorrow (Friday) with no school for students and staff.
  
  

• Homecoming week at GISH has been a success so far with a number of fun activities.
  
  

• Our first Key Communicators stakeholder group meeting is next Thursday, October 16th. We're excited about the collaboration we're seeing with this group and some of the programming updates we'll be making.
  
  

• We're looking forward to engaging our stakeholder groups and our community around two key discussion topics this year: Strategic Plan and Facilities Planning.
  
  

• REMINDER: The Nebraska State Education Conference is on Omaha from November 19th - 21st.
  
  

• The Board Self-Evaluation and the Superintendent Evaluation will be coming out next month.
  
  

• Walnut Middle School will be hosting a week of fun festivities for the community next week for their 100th Anniversary Celebration. Sunday at 2:00 p.m. will be their Open House Event; Thursday at 5:30 p.m. will be the 100th Anniversary of the Barr vs Walnut Football Game; and Friday afternoon at will be the annual Walnut Volleyball Pink Out game.

Hear Mr. Fisher's full report HERE.

See above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No changes are being proposed at this time.

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

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change includes:

• Clarifying that the reimbursement payout will be delivered as is reflected on the individual's contract (rather than over the course of monthly payments).

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

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change includes:

• Clarifying that the reimbursement payout will be delivered as is reflected on the individual's contract (rather than over the course of monthly payments).
  
  

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

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The recommendation would be to eliminate this policy altogether as it does not reflect the current protocols or needs of the district. The Nebraska Department of Education has adopted providing this service for schools across the state.

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

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

See above information item for rationale.

This was shared as both an information item and action item at the October Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 9 - 0

All other policies from the August Board meeting were voted on and approved in the consent agenda as those policies did not require approved changes or simply fixed grammatical errors.