GIPS Board Brief March 15, 2024
Updates from the GIPS Board of Education
GIPS Board Brief - March 15, 2024
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 March 2024 Regular Board Meeting.
Board of Education Meeting - 03.14.2024
- Agenda
- Video Stream
- Board Members Katie Mauldin & Lindsey Jurgens were not present but gave prior notice.
INFORMATION ITEMS
GIPS Foundation Update
Kari Hooker-Leep, GIPS Foundation Executive Director, shared an update on the programs, events, and scholarships awards that the Foundation has curated this Spring so far.
The GIPS Foundation hosted the "Legends & Legacies" events on Tuesday of this week.
- The newly designed GISH Hall of honor was unveiled with three new class members being inducted: George Ayoub, Dr. Thomas Meedel, & Steve Hornady.
- The evening banquet celebrated our Hall of Honor inductees and honored our newest Legendary Educators as well: Yvette Englehaupt, Kermit McCue, & D. Donald Vander Hamm.
$682,668 will be provided in scholarship awards to Seniors this year.
193 scholarships total
86 Students qualified for the Academic Aristocrat Program – A 27% growth from last year.
Last year $111,000 were raised.
93% of staff donated last year.
Here Kari's full presentation HERE.
Update on Special Education Programming in GIPS
Renee Engel, GIPS Special Education Director, shared information on the current Special Education status and needs of our programming for GIPS students.
The mission of the GIPS Special Education Department is to support students' achievement academically, socially, and emotionally so they have access to quality educational opportunities in their least restrictive environment as they develop skills to become independent and productive individuals.
Some presentation highlights include:
- GIPS currently has over 100 certified SE staff and 130 classified SE staff and paraeducators.
- The SE Department is in adherence with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
- The three prongs of eligibility for SE are:
- Does the child have a diagnosed disability?
- Does the diagnosed disability adversely affect the child's educational performance?
- Does the child require "specially designed instruction" to receive free and appropriate education?
- GIPS SE provides special education to students from birth to age 21.
- Currently, about 18% of the GIPS student population qualifies for SE.
Hear Renee's full presentation HERE.
EL Positions
Dr. Carrie Kolar, GIPS Chief of Human Capital Management, and Dr. Amanda Levos, GIPS English Language Learner & Equity Systems Navigator, shared an update requesting additional EL staff for GISH and the 2-5 Newcomers Program at Stolley Park.
Since February, we have had another 70 students join GIPS through the Welcome Center. With the growing number of students in the program, GIPS is needing to add two more positions to help support students.
- By March 20th, we will have 123 students in our Grades 2-5 Newcomer program.
- Currently, our EL classrooms at the Elementary level average 23-26 students per class.
- For GISH, by March 20th we will have 150 students in our Grades 9-12 Newcomer program.
This was shared as both an Information and an Action Item at March's Board meeting.
Hear Dr. Levos & Dr. Kolar's full presentation HERE.
Move Activity Fund Bank Account from Five Points Bank to Wells Fargo
Mr. Virgil Harden, GIPS CFO, shared an update on adjustments needing to be made regarding which banking institutions the district uses for the Activities Fund.
In order to streamline Business Office payroll and other procedures concerning the Activity Fund the Business Office would like to move the Activity Fund bank account from Five Points Bank to Wells Fargo Bank. We'll maintain our banking relationship with Five Points Bank albeit via an investment account or other necessary bank accounts.
This was shared as information and will be up for Action Item vote in April.
Hear Mr. Harden's full presentation HERE.
GIPS Communications Audit Report
Mitchell Roush, GIPS Communications Director, shared an update on the district's Communication Audit.
GIPS contracted the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) to conduct an in-depth communications audit for the district. The last time the district conducted an audit to this degree (with NSPRA) was a decade ago and the findings from that report led to numerous key decisions that helped shape GIPS for the next nine years.
Re-conducting a communications audit through one of the nation's leading organizations was a priority for the district as we seek to evaluate how we are engaging and informing our staff, students, families, and community. The new communications audit report provides current commendations and recommendations on how GIPS may continue moving forward in communicating with our public.
Here are a few highlights from the report and presentation:
- The NSPRA Audit Team reviewed collateral, materials, and digital communications of the district. They also reviewed communication strategies, conducted an electronic perception survey of Staff, Families, and Community members, and led 10 in-person focus groups comprised of Certified Staff, Classified Staff, Board Members, English Speaking Families, Spanish Speaking Families, Community Members, and Administrators.
- The last time perception surveys were shared with staff, families, and the community was in 2017-18. Comparing the numbers from then to now, the "overall perception" scores of the district increased to: 83% for parents; 94% for staff; 89% for community.
- Overall satisfaction with district communications grew from 2017-18 to now with: 89% for parents; 94% for staff; 90% for community.
- Email, text message, newsletters, word of mouth, and social media remain the most preferred methods of communication for both staff and parents.
- District social media engagement is outpacing the national average.
- Recommendations of focus for the next few years for the communications efforts are:
- Complete the development of a new strategic communications plan.
- Standardize parent/family communication at the building level.
- Build greater awareness and expand resources for needs of diverse students and families.
- Continue building trust with the community through new district leadership.
- Provide communication training for administrators and key front-line staff.
- Continue communicating thoroughly about district finances.
Hear Mitchell's full presentation HERE.
Reduce Specific Certified Staff Positions
Dr. Carrie Kolar presented that the Board discuss, consider, and take action on the reduction or elimination of programs and/or staff effective at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.
The role recommended for reduction was:
- 1.0 full-time Social Worker position
This was shared as both an Information Item and an Action Item at March's Board meeting.
Listen to Dr. Kolar's full presentation HERE.
POLICY UPDATES
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.
Professional Boundaries Between Staff & Students - 6252
Update to an existing policy.
The only change would be to add the following two sentences to the existing lengthy policy:
"Electronic communication between staff and students may only take place through school email or district approved communication platforms. Coordinating communication through unapproved third-party apps is not permitted."
This was shared as first read and will be up for an Action Item vote at April's Board meeting.
Credit for Professional Training Beyond a Bachelor's Degree - 6324
Proposal to cut this policy as it is a repeat of another policy and thoroughly covered in the staff handbook.
This was shared as first read and will be up for an Action Item vote at April's Board meeting.
Communications & Media Relations - 9220
Two proposed updates:
- Remove the previously #9220 Policy entitled, "Reports to the Public", as it is a repeat of Policy #9221.
- Replacing #9220 would be a new policy called, "Communications & Media Relations".
The proposal would simply put a policy in place that is consistent with already existing standard practice in the district. A few highlights include:
- All media inquiries to visit schools or district buildings must be funneled through the GIPS Communications Director or its designee.
- Requesting outside media coverage must come through the GIPS Communications Department.
- A "No Media List" of students must be kept at each school by the building Principal(s).
These proposed additions would help ensure the safety and personally identifying information of our students.
This was shared as first read and will be up for an Action Item vote at April's Board meeting.
Online Media Accounts & Posts - 9221
A proposed new policy that would reflect some existing standard practices in the district and a few new components of online account moderation. Specifically for social media accounts and the district branding they carry.
A few highlights include:
- Each Elementary and Middle School may have one official school account on online platforms approved by the Director of Communications or designee.
- Each High School may have one official school account and one "Activities" account on online platforms approved by the Director of Communications or designee.
- All district and school social media posts must be made through a district approved social media management platform.
- The District Communications Team and IT Department will be the caretakers of all district online media account login credentials.
- School Principals will have access to their school, branded online media accounts through the district approved social media management platform. They may appoint other full-time staff members, teachers, or coaches to have posting access.
This was shared as first read and will be up for an Action Item vote at April's Board meeting.
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE REPORT
Adi Beltran, GISH Senior and Board Student Representative, shared her latest report with the Board of Education. A few highlights may be found below.
ATHLETICS:
- Both the Boys and Girls Wrestling Teams had great success!
- Boys had 13 state qualifiers while the girls had 12.
- Anyia Roberts became the first ever state champion for the Girls Wrestling Program.
- Cheer & Dance had their state competition. Dance placed 4th overall in the High Kick category.
- Boys basketball closed out their season with a win over Columbus.
ACTIVITIES:
- The Robotics Team qualified for State for the first time in the program's history.
- The Speech Team placed 4th at Districts with Marissa Crosby and Cael Wiegert both qualifying for state.
STUDENT SUPERINTENDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL (SSAC):
- State Board of Education representative Sherry Jones met with the SSAC. We discussed the Period Poverty project at our school. It was a challenging but good meeting with representative Jones as we disagreed with how best to approach tackling period poverty.
OTHER UPDATES:
- 35 GISH Juniors were inducted into National Honor Society.
- The new look for the "Hall of Honor" was unveiled as they welcomed the current class of inductees.
- "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" opens this weekend at the GISH Little Theatre.
- Prom and Post Prom are coming up!
- Spring Sports season is here and we will be very busy.
Hear Adi's full report HERE.
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
Mr. Fisher shared a Superintendent Report with the Board.
A few highlights include:
- SSAC meeting with Mrs. Jones was a very impressive meeting. Our students represented the school well in sharing their perspectives and engaging in dialogue.
- Annual Report is done in English and Spanish. We were able to save cost on what we spend on last year’s edition but still produce a material we can be proud of.
- Calvin Hubbard has been named the new Principal at GISH to start next school year.
- Chris Ladwig will be the new GISH Activities Director to start next year.
- Eon Lemburg will be the new GISH Assistant AD to start next year.
- Sheree Stockwell will be the new Barr Principal to start next year.
- Jennie Ritter will be the new Knickrehm Principal to start next year.
- We’ll be working to hire the roles previously held by Sheree and Jennie.
- Spend time at the Greater Nebraska Superintendent group today.
- Revenue Cap Bill is getting the most attention.
- Also sat in the NASB legislative meeting.
- There was discussion about the uncertainty about the upcoming revenue package. We’re still waiting to hear from the Governor on that piece. It sounds like his main priority is attempting to lower property taxes through another funding source.
Hear Mr. Fisher's full report HERE.
ACTION ITEMS
GIPS Google Workspace Plus Multi-Year Agreement
Mr. Cory Gearhart, GIPS Chief Information Officer, shared an update on how consolidation of third party apps into our Google Workspace productivity suite will yield productivity gains, as well cost savings.
Overall, upgrading the Google Workspace resources for the district would help provide more consistent technology resources for classroom instruction, student learning tools, and teacher resources.
The standard sticker price for the package is typically $52,000. However, the GIPS negotiated packaged would would be $42,000 for year one, and $40,000 a year for the next two years equalling about a $12,000 per year savings for the district.
This was shared as information at February's Board meeting.
MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0
Reduce Specific Staff Positions
Please see above information item for rationale.
MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0
EL Positions
Please see above information item for rationale.
MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0
Board Operating Principles - 2111
Proposed updates to the existing policy include:
- Update the language about “chain of command” to read “chain of communication”.
- Update committee expectation language to clarify that committees will meet monthly or as needed.
- Update committee expectations that a board member may fill in for another in a committee meeting if the original committee member is unable to attend.
- Update to state Board Members interested in being considered for Board President or Vice President need to make it known to the group by January 5th instead of December 1st.
- Remove the stipulation about the Board President having ex-officio status for all committees.
This was shared as first read at February's Board meeting.
MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0
Board Member Code of Ethics- 2112
Regular review of an existing policy.
No changes were proposed.
This was shared as first read at February's Board meeting.
MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0
Board Member Compensation for Expenses - 2330
Update to an existing policy to adequately reflect the current practices within the district and adjusting language to be consistent throughout.
This was shared as first read at February's Board meeting.
MOTION PASSED: 7 - 0
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board convened into an Executive Session for the purpose of discussing real estate.
No action was taken after the Executive Session.
April Regular Meeting
Live stream for the Board meeting will be available on the GIPS YouTube channel.