GIPS Board Brief August 14, 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 August 2026 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• Carlos Barcenas and Josh Hawley were not present but both gave prior notice.

Nearly seventy Grand Island Senior High (GISH) students were recognized for stellar results on their respective AP tests during the 2025-26 school year.

Congratulations, Islander AP Scholars!

AP SCHOLAR:

Gavin Andrade; Cooper Beins; Paige Berglund; Tessa Bockoven; Mia Bustamante Cabrera; Hana Butters; Mason Cheetsos; Isabel Corona Rodriguez; Daniela Cortes; David Diaz Hinojosa; Maddox Enck-Monie; Ethan Erb; Zurisadai Gomez Cotom; Kaelie Heminger; Katherine Johnsen; Nolan Kier; Abbie Kirchner; Dax Kirkland; Alijhandra Kirschbaum; Ayden Kuebler; Josue Lucas Mejia; Zane Luevano; Owen Madison; Sanhitha Manapuram; Katelyn Marten; Jonny Matul Gonzalez; Elijah Meier-Juarez; Jennifer Mejia Cota; Kamry Niedfelt; McKartni Norton; Alexia Nunez; Kimberly Ochoa; Sumaya Omar; Isabella Parmeley; Elise Phinney; Isabella Roe; Brydon Stein; Elizabeth Stoppkotte; Aaron Tenski; Kiki Teya; Richard Trens; Noah Veik; Emilia Ward; Holden Wemhoff; Michael Westerby; Ethan Wichman; Coye Wiegert; Katherin Xicara

AP SCHOLAR WITH HONOR:

Gisselle Avendano; Jarid Fischer; James Martin; Jack Parker; Alaynah Potter; Lucas Rischling; Lincoln Roundy; Britton Sackschewsky; Lucas Skalberg

AP SCHOLAR WITH DISTINCTION:

Blake Barnacle; Aksam Dodban; Reagan Kort; Landy Marcos; Maximos Mendez; Anni Nguyen; Tallon Sawyer; Diana Stephenson; Brandon Vega; Sarah Wichman; Cael Wiegert; William Woods

(Pictured are the students who were able to attend the Board Meeting for recognition.)

Mrs. Cara Kuhl, GIPS 6-12 ELA & Social Studies and K-5 Library Media and 6-12 Integration Specialist and Gifted & Talented Coordinator, and Ms. Loria Lei Thunker, GIPS Gifted & Talented Specialist, shared an update on Nebraska Standards for what was previously called the "Gifted & Talented" Program.

Following updates to Nebraska's Rule 3, GIPS is updating its High Ability Learner (HAL) program to align with state guidelines for full implementation in the 2026–2027 school year.

The updated program adopts a broader definition of high ability that emphasizes student capacity across instructional domains and establishes a multi-criteria identification system allowing for a wider range of students to earn this learning opportunity. Additionally, the state update introduces identification portability so students transferring into or out of the district retain their HAL status without disruption. Finally, GIPS will implement disaggregated data tracking and a five-year program review cycle while continuing to manage its HAL funding independently to preserve local control.

This was shared as an information item.

Hear the full presentation HERE.

Mr. Dan Petsch, GIPS Director of Buildings, Grounds, & Safety, shared a proposal to accept a construction bid for the upcoming Gates Elementary renovation.

Six bids were received by the district for the project overall. The recommended bid, and lowest cost, came from RMV Construction with a total estimation of approximately $6,697,700. Funding for the project will come for the GIPS Special Building Fund.

We expect the project to start sometime in October. The district believes the project will be able to be done safely throughout the school year without us having to move out of the building.

What’s next?

In early September, Gates staff will be meeting with Mr. Fisher and Mr. Petsch to learn more about the project.

After that, Gates host an opportunity for families to meet with Mr. Fisher during an upcoming PTA meeting.

This was shared as both an information and action item so that, if approved, the contractors may be engaged right away for work on the building in the Fall.

Hear the full presentation HERE.

Mr. Dan Petsch also shared a brief overview on the progress of the 2026-27 project list for buildings across the district.

40 of the 43 projected projects are either completed, or in progress and heading towards completion. Some of the projects across the district include:

• Kneale Administration Building Parking Lot
• Walnut Middle School New Lighting and Updated Gym Floor
• Renovation of the GISH Planetarium
• Replaced gym floor at Newell
• New boiler at the Islander Annex
• New HVAC at Barr Middle School
• New playground at Wasmer
• Upgraded phone systems at Gates, Howard, Knickrehm, & Wasmer
• Network wiring upgrades at Gates, Hoard, Lincoln, Wasmer, & Kneale Admin.
• And more

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 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 and will be up for approval at the September Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

After discussion with the Board, the policy committee will take a second look at the policy to see if there’s an opportunity to make the portion about exceptions more clear.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed change would be to remove listed organizations that no longer go by that name.

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

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 and will be up for an ammended approval at the September 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.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed change would be to remove the bullet list of specific services listed as those services may change or fluctuate from year to year.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposal would be to eliminate this policy as there is no requirement to have a policy about recognizing “State Fire Day”. The district does their fire safety education in the Fall semester, while the “State Fire Day” is in the Spring.

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

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

• WELCOME BACK AND TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

On August 5, 2026, we celebrated Welcome Back and the Teacher of the Year Awards. One of the Foundation's favorite programs is Teacher of the Year. This past school year we asked for nominations to celebrate Teachers, Staff and Administration. 1900 nominations were received for 499 different individuals A committee of community volunteers was tasked to read through all the nominations and select one person from each of our six categories. Every year the volunteers find this task to be extremely difficult. They realize that many deserve these awards.

Five teachers and Staff Members received a certificate and a check for $500.00.

The recipient of the Administrator Award received a certificate and $1,000 of extra building or department budget authority for their administrative area.

Thank you to First National Bank of Omaha who has generously sponsored our Teacher of the Year Awards for 22 years.

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT AWARDEES

Lacy Biberos a 6th Grade Math Teacher at Barr Middle School received the Dr. Eugene Miller Professional Development Grant worth $1500. Awardee of the GIPS Foundation Professional Development Grants $1500 Chandler Hehnke, a kindergarten teacher at Howard Elementary and Carlos Duran, a science teacher at Grand Island Senior High each received the GIPS Foundation Professional Development Grant worth $1500 each.

• INNOVATION GRANTS

GIPS Teachers are heading back to the classrooms. We want to announce that the Innovation Grant application opens on August 1st. This grant is for teachers that think outside the box, looking to offer their students NEW opportunities that are outside the basic curriculum. This year the awards are up $5000 each with the possibility of 5 grants being awarded.

• 5th ANNUAL HARVEST WILL BE HELD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th. Tickets are available at gipsfoundation.org.

Harvest event will include:

• Cocktails, live & silent auction, dinner, Dessert Dash,
• Mission Moment on raising funds for Scholarships: Speakers: Larry Baker
• Heart of the Foundation Award: The Allen Family: Connie & Eric and Jordan & Mark
• The Host is Colleen Williams and the Auctioneer is Phil Wieck
• Presenting Sponsor is Tom & Kim Dinsdale

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS Chief Financial Officer, shared an annual update on the opportunity for the Board to adopt an optional property tax authority resolution.

The concept is a Property Tax Authority Cap (or limitation) for all public school Boards of Education in Nebraska. The new Property Tax Authority Resolution is an additional 5% above the current cap.

This will not impact current property taxes for the community. The action would only grant the Board the authority to ask for up to 5% more if needed in the future. Any future action would require a Board vote.

The Board approved the resolution each of the last three years. Three years ago, GIPS did not use any of the funds. Two years ago, GIPS used approximately $1.3 million of the available $6.1 million. Last year, the dollar amount was approximately $6.7 million. Due to this permissible maximization, we have been able to build-up our Special Building Fund which has allowed us to do important facility projects like the renovation of Gates Elementary.

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

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

See above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

See above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

Policy update was developed by legal counsel and meets the requirements of the new state legislature.

Proposed addition, per legal counsel, would read:

"Absences due to illness, including physical or mental illness, that make attendance impossible or impracticable, and that are documented by a credentialed health professional, shall not be the basis for referral to the county attorney. In cases of chronic illness, such documentation will be reviewed each semester."

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

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

Policy update was developed by legal counsel and meets the requirements of the new state legislature.

The primary change proposed, per legal requirement, dictates that a student in any grade ranging from Kindergarten - 12th Grade may be suspended or expelled if they engage in violent behavior capable of causing physical harm to another student, or school employee.

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

After discussion with the Board, it was discovered that an important details was missing from the Long Term suspension section of the policy. To ensure both "Short Term" and "Long Term" sections remained consistent, the Board motioned to amend the policy to include the following statement:

"Based on this incident and subsequent investigation, suspended students cannot attend school, participate in any school activities, or be on school district grounds during that time, unless otherwise approved by me in advance."

MOTION PASSED AS AMENDED: 7 - 0