GIPS Board Brief June 12, 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 June 2026 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• Eric Garcia-Mendez and Dr. Kent Mann were not present but both gave prior notice.

Grand Island Public Schools is continuing to “grow their own” and promote careers in the education field through the PathBack Program and Education Pathway.

Adriana Behrens and Hailey Lewandowski, GISH Class of 2026, are this year's recipients for the program and were recognized at the Board meeting. This is the ninth year of the GIPS PathBack Program, which mentors future teachers and offers them a teaching job after college.

Adriana plans to attend Wayne State College to major in Secondary Education with an endorsement in Math.

Hailey plans to attend Wayne State College to major in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Early Childhood Education.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Grand Island Senior High found a number of student athletes earning recognition for the 2026 Spring season at the state level.

Congratulations to the following GISH State Medalists:

• Celia McCoy - Girls Track & Field - Gold Medal in 100m Hurdles; Silver in 300m Hurdles
• Reese Jones - Girls Track & Field - Bronze in Long Jump
• Michael Obermiller - Boys Track & Field - 4th Place in 110m Hurdles
• Nathan Kosmicki - Boys Golf - 14th Place

• Sanhitha Manapuram - Girls Tennis - 4th Place in Singles (not pictured, unable to attend)

Way to compete and represent, Islanders!

Grand Island Senior High had six Islander students qualify and compete at the National SkillsUSA Competition hosted in Atlanta, GA earlier this month.

Congratulations to the following GISH SkillsUSA Nationals Competitors:

• Abraham Cardoza - Additive Manufacturing
• Daniela Cortes - Additive Manufacturing
• Isabel Corona Rodriguez - CTE Educator

• Max Mendez - EMT
• Chances Colburn - EMT (not pictured, unable to attend)
• Jerry Vasquez - CNC 2-axis Lathe Programmer (not pictured, unable to attend)

Great job, Islanders, we're proud of you!

Three dedicated educators were recognized for successfully completing the GIPS Teacher Fellowship Program.

The program provides participants with financial support and opportunities to complete their teaching degrees from partnering colleges and universities.

Congratulations to the following educators:

• Sara White - Completed her Elementary Education & ESL Certification from Wayne State College and will teach Kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary (not pictured as she was attending a professional development conference for the district at the time of the Board meeting.)
  
  
• Lynnette Gibson - Completed her Special Education Certification from Chadron State University and will teach Special Education at Dodge Elementary
  
  
• Ruth Cruz - Completed her Elementary Education & ESL Certification from Chadron State University and will teach EL at West Lawn Elementary

Congratulations, Educators!

Mr. Matt Fisher, GIPS Superintendent, shared an investment opportunity the district is considering with one of the community's local banks.

Grand Island Public Schools has cash reserves that can be invested to benefit the District, Bank, and the greater Grand Island Community. After meeting with Equitable Bank officials, the bank expressed interest in working with GIPS.

The returns earned from the investment would go towards the GIPS Educator Fellowship program.

This was shared as both an information and action item so that the work on this partnership could start right away.

Hear the full presentation HERE.

Dr. Evan Lee, GISH Band Director, shared an update with the board regarding important updates for the district's band programs.

After inventorying the District's current musical instruments, the instrumental and orchestra teaching staff developed a list of new instruments needed to ensure any GIPS student who requires an instrument for participation in band or orchestra can be provided one by the District.

Due to exciting growth in the band programs at the district Middle Schools and at GISH, adding more instruments to the inventory would make it easier to accommodate the increasing number of students participating. The proposed purchase would include 246 instruments for a total of approximately $343,000.

This was shared as both an information item and an action item so that ordering the new instruments could take place right away to be here for the upcoming school year.

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.

The only proposed changes include adjusting the timelines of a few procedural details to better reflect the current practices in the district.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Removing "The" from the name of Grand Island Public Schools.
• Removing the specific listing of student commitments as they've already been implemented through the district mission statement.
• Removing the explanation of the "Leading Board Committee" as that no longer exists.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Updating the introduction of the policy to read as, "Multicultural Education is essential in meeting the mission of Grand Island Public Schools. Students will be provided with opportunities: 1. to gain knowledge and appreciation of their own unique identities. 2. to gain knowledge, understanding and respect for the diversity of our community, our country, and our world."
  
  
• Clarifying the curriculum portion of the language to read as, "The Multicultural Education Program shall be incorporated into Grand Island Public Schools, including curriculum frameworks and course guides, a process for selecting appropriate instructional materials, providing staff development, and periodic assessment of the program."

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The proposed change includes updating the definition of the school day and its duration for the district. Newly drafted language would read as:

"The student school day and the certified professional staff work day are distinct schedules. The normal student school day shall be consistent from one elementary building to another. Middle school buildings shall operate with the same student school day in each building. Senior high buildings will utilize a student school day that fits the unique needs of the students in the various programs. The professional work day for certified staff is established as 8.0 hours per day. Recognizing that certified professional staff are salaried-exempt, they are expected to work the hours necessary to fulfill their professional responsibilities, which may routinely extend beyond the 8.0 hour scheduled workday and the student school day."

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to fix a phrase to say "ensure" rather than "assure that".

The rest of the policy would be unchanged.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

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

The rest of the policy would be unchanged.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes would include:

• Removing "The" from the name of Grand Island Public Schools.
• Removing an repetitive sentence referring to assessments, as the previous sentences already confirms following state and federal standards.
• Adding "PLC" to the listed instructional framework provided by GIPS.
• Removing the specific definition of the state assessment model as it is redundant, and could be changed by the state in the future.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

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

The rest of the policy would be unchanged.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

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

The rest of the policy would be unchanged.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Removing "The" from the name Grand Island Public Schools.
• Removing a redundant bullet point regarding subpoenas that was already covered in a previous bullet point.

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

1. The Foundation received more than 2,100 nominations for 500 teachers and staff members for the 2026 Teacher of the Year Program (encompassing Teacher, Staff Member, and Administrator of the Year). This year, moving the entire nomination process online allowed us to email all nomination letters to the nominees before the end of the school year. Winners will be announced at the Welcome Back event in August. We are also proud to partner with First National Bank of Omaha, who returns as our program sponsor for the 22nd consecutive year.
   
   
2. The Foundation Board will have the following business before them at their June 16, 2026 meeting: Teacher of the Year Winner Recommendation; Miller Legacy Scholarship and Grand Island Public School Foundation Professional Development Grant recommendations; 2026 Audit Engagement Investment Policy Review.
   
   
3. The Foundation board will be reviewing the 2026 Scholarship Program Statistics, including feedback from reviewers and the annual scholarship application integrity audit.
   
   
4. Introduction of Student Board Representative Lilly Goodwin.
   
   
5. The Foundation Board does not plan to hold a meeting in July.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

Dr. Carrie Kolar, GIPS Chief of Human Capital Management, shared a proposed update to Extra Standard Compensation for the district at the May Board meeting.

The Extra Standard requests reflect an intentional response to an increase of responsibilities and support needs for a number of activities. Proposed extra standard updates would include:

• Increasing the payment categories for both the Cheerleading and Dance coaches at Senior High to keep those roles similar in scope and compensation.
• Increasing the category for Freshman Football Coaches, Assistant Track Coaches, and the Head Unified Track & Field Coaching position.
• Increasing the compensation category for head Speech Sponsor.
• Adjusting the Middle School Activities Director compensation model to be 18% of the base rather than a flat total.

The requests for the 2026-27 school year to support learning and extracurricular activities at our Middle Schools and GISH. The total cost would be $70,813.

This was shared as information at the May Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS CFO, shared a request at the May Board meeting for GIPS to consider partnering with Optimizon to help support district printing and copying services.

The proposal is for a strategic partnership with Optimizon to help manage and optimize the district’s printing and copying framework across all buildings. Following their successful facilitation of the recent RFP process, Optimizon would transition into an administrative support role. The district has already secured a 60-month contract with Eakes Office Solutions for printing equipment, valued at approximately $2,200 per month.

The Role of Optimizon would serve as a contracted servicing agent focused on:

• Data tracking and monitoring equipment usage across the district.
• Providing enhanced support through administrative oversight for the new hardware.
• Being more cost efficient by identifying opportunities for "sizable" financial savings through streamlined operations.
• While the equipment contract spans five years, the agreement with Optimizon includes a two-year exit clause. This allows GIPS to terminate the partnership early if the projected savings and support standards are not met.

By leveraging Optimizon’s expertise in support in printing/copying support, GIPS aims to maximize the value of their Eakes Office Solutions contract while maintaining the freedom to pivot if the partnership doesn't deliver the expected cost savings.

This was shared as an information item at the May Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 6 - 1

** UPDATED 6.15.2026. There was an unintentional type-o when the newsletter was first published saying the vote was 7-0. That has been corrected to reflect the accurate Board voting of 6-1.

See above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

See above information item for rationalte.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

The policy had not been reviewed since 2013. Since digital needs and requirements have changed notably since then, the policy has been rewritten to align with the district’s current practices.

The overall purpose of the policy has not changed, but updating the wording and best practices to current protocols is needed.

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

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

A few adjustments were proposed to ensure the policy is current with the most recent legislative adjustments. The main edit would be to remove the sentence that specifies the types of "excused absences" as that list may not always be accurate depending on the year or legislative action.

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

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

The Board entered into a brief Executive Session for the purpose of discussing final details regarding negotiations.

Upon returning from the Executive Session, the Board made a motion to approve the 2026-27 Salary and Benefit package for the Central Office Administrators with a 3.91% overall package increase.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0