GIPS Board Brief October 9th, 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 October 2026 Regular Board Meeting.

• Agenda
• Video Stream
• Eric Garcia-Mendez and Tracy Goodman were not present but gave prior notice.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS CFO, shared his annual update with the Board regarding the year-long process of developing the next fiscal year's budget for the district.

The proposed budget development calendar provides a structured but fluid timeline for the Fiscal Year 2027-2028 budget. One of the primary functions of the budget calendar helps ensure the district meets all statutory deadlines and scheduled board reviews. Additionally, it provides transparent opportunities for community engagement and strategic financial alignment well ahead of the final budget approval.

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. Dan Petsch, GIPS Director of Buildings, Grounds, & Safety, shared an update on the upcoming Westridge expansion project.

The first step for the Westridge Middle School expansion project is to approve an architect outfit and an engineering group to conceive the designs.

The ask was for the Board to approve CMBA Architects as the project architects and Engineering Technologies, Inc. (ETI) as the project engineers.

This portion only covers design portion of the expansion, setting the fee schedules and groundwork for the upcoming work. Once designed and the overall project approved, the expansion will provide additional classroom space in the grade pods and skills areas, an expanded cafeteria, and updated administrative offices. The project will also feature a more secure entry vestibule, among additional updates.

Overall, early estimates project the Westridge expansion to be about $10.5 million which will be financed by the district using existing funds and will not require a bond vote.

This was shared as both an information item and an action item so that the district may begin working with the project design vendors right away.

Hear Mr. Petsch'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.

Due to new legislation from the state, a stipulation would be added to the policy that states:

"In accordance with state statute, siblings of current option students are guaranteed acceptance into the district once proper option paperwork has been completed."

This was shared as both a first read item and an action item so that it may be approved and in-place by legal deadline.

Regular review of an existing policy.

The proposed change would be to remove the sentence about scheduling reimbursement charges during the "Annual Student Fees" hearing, as the district does not collect student fees.

Instead, the district will continue with its current practice of awarding appropriate reimbursement as they arise.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed change would be to remove the two introductory sentences as they are redundant.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Only proposed change would be to add a clarification that a School Administrator's staff designee may be present during student interviews. The new sentence would read as:

"School administration (or their designee) generally may sit in on all interviews conducted at school including abuse and neglect."

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed changes are:

• Removing "The" from the name of "Grand Island Public Schools".
• Updating district operated transportation to district "contracted transportation".

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The changes proposed would update the policy to include new safety protocols and expectations around motorized bikes and scooters. A new opening paragraph in the policy would read as:

"Bicycles and other small wheeled vehicles, including battery powered vehicles, that are ridden to school by students will be parked in a designated outside area, and no bicycle or small wheeled vehicle will be allowed inside any district building. Any attachments, racks, batteries, or other accessories that are on the bicycle or small wheeled vehicle must remain outside with the vehicle."

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change would be to include all Staff in the listing of folks required to wear protective eyewear during specifically identified instruction. The previous wording only included Teachers.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

Proposed changes include:

• Removing "The" from the name of "Grand Island Public Schools".
• Removing the specific duration of required suicide awareness training as the training modules may change or expand over time.
• Removing the last sentence of the policy that stipulates how often the Board will distribute the policy.

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

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change is 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 November Board meeting.

Regular review of an existing policy.

The only proposed change is 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 November Board meeting.

October 2026 Report from the GIPS Foundation:

• On September 24th, our community gathered for Harvest 2026, demonstrating overwhelming support and shared commitment to our local students and schools.
  
  
• A highlight of the evening was the Heart of the Foundation Award: Presented to the Allen Family—Eric, Connie, Mark, and Jordan—in honor of their extraordinary dedication, generosity, and lasting impact on our community. Keynote Speaker: Larry Baker (GISH Class of 1992) delivered a captivating and inspirational address, highlighting the lifelong impact of community support, the importance of teachers/mentors, and how finding the right support can change the trajectory of a person's life. With sincere gratitude, thank you to our donors, sponsors, volunteers, and guests. Your incredible generosity and presence made Harvest 2026 a memorable success and ensures our community continues to thrive together.
  
  
• The Foundation has closed the online Innovation Grant application. Grants shall be for projects that will benefit students after November 2, 2026, or during the spring or summer of 2027. Innovation grants are designed to fund educational opportunities for students that are not available through the school district's general budget.
  
  
• The Foundation will undergo its annual audit starting in October 2026.
  
  
• Nominations for Legendary Educator and Hall of Honor will close on October 31, 2026. Nominations can be made on gipsfoundation.org.
  
  
• The Foundation Board will meet on October 20, 2026. The annual budget will be presented.

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 Fall Activities:

• Musical - Tickets are now on sale for the musical! Shows go from Oct. 30th to Nov. 1st.
• Band - The Band performed in the Harvest of Harmony Parade. They placed 6th overall out of over 90 other bands. They placed 3rd for their parade marching in class and 4th for their field performance with a superior rating.
• Football - The football team had an amazing win last week with a score of 51-0 against Omaha Buena Vista.
• Girls Golf - The girls golf team competed at districts this week and have had an amazing season so far.
• Boys Tennis - They’ve been working hard, they had a conference this week and state next week
• Dance - The GISH dance team has been practicing their routines since June and they qualified for regionals and nationals and placed 4th out of 10 teams
• Cheer - The cheer team hosted a Glow-Camp for elementary students across the district where they performed during the first quarter of the football game last week.
• Student Council - Student Council has spent a lot of time and effort on planning and preparing everything for the Homecoming dance this Saturday!
• GlamourGals - GlamourGals has been handing out handmade cards and fans to seniors living in assisted living facilities during their monthly visits to painting ladies nails.

Events around GIPS:

• Freshmen, Mya Bernal competed in the Civics Bee at the regional and state level, and qualified to compete at the national level in Washington D.C. next week!
• Lincoln Elementary celebrated Hispanic Heritage month with their annual Hispanic Heritage Fiesta where students performed traditional dances for families
• Walnut Middle School performed for the second year ever in the Harvest of Harmony Parade last weekend.
• Over 50 colleges, universities, armed service representatives, and medical groups visited GISH for the annual College Fair to help students explore their options post graduation.
• GISH celebrated homecoming week with the fall pep-rally with lots of fun games for the student body and shout-outs to the many activities and clubs

Staff Shoutout:

A staff member I would like to shout out this month is Mrs. Jennifer Bohl.

I’ve had the privilege of having her as a teacher this year and she is an extremely caring and kind teacher. She cares so much about her students and is always checking up on everyone making sure they understand the material. She is very understanding when it comes to students needing extra help and supports her students in any way that she can. She is one of the sweetest teachers ever.

Hear Angie's full report HERE.

Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.

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 at the September Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

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 at the September Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Please see above information item for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

Please see above Policy Update for rationale.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

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 at the September Board meeting.

MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0

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."

After discussion on a few specifics surrounding topics such as "Constitution Day", the Board made a motion to "table" the policy for further review. The Policy Committee will re-visit the policy, confirm with legal counsel, and bring the updates back at a future meeting for consideration and discussion.

MOTION TO "TABLE" THE POLICY PASSED: 7 - 0

Regular review of an existing policy.

No proposed changes at this time.

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

MOTION PASSED: 6 - 1

The Board entered into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing negotiations.

There was no votable action as a result of the Executive Session.