April 17, 2023 at 5:30 PM - GIPS BOE Regular Meeting

Rationale: 

It is 5:____PM and I now call to order the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education Meeting.  This is the April 17, 2023 meeting.  Notice of this meeting has been advertised in the Grand Island Independent, which is the District's designated method of giving notice of these meetings.

We want those in attendance to know that copies of the Open Meetings Act are available at the entrance to the Board Room.  If anyone in attendance is interested in addressing our Board, you are welcome to do so.  We simply request that you complete the appropriate form and turn it in to us so that you may be recognized during the Requests to Address the Board part of our meeting.  If you have not already completed the form, please see the staff person outside the entrance to this room.  Public comment is welcome. We do ask that no signs be brought into the boardroom.

Mrs. Dibbert, will you please call the roll?

Rationale:  Roll Call.

Rationale: 

The Mission  

Every Student, Every Day, a Success!  In educating students, we teach hearts as well as minds. 

Student Commitments  

Within the school district of Grand Island:

• Every student has access to high-quality, culturally responsive, and engaging learning environments.  
• Every student will develop literacy skills across disciplines.  
• Every student is socially and emotionally equipped to thrive in school and in life. 
• Every student will graduate as a college, career, and community-ready citizen.  

 

 

 

Rationale:  The first item on the agenda tonight is the Consent Agenda.  The Consent Agenda to be approved is as follows:

(items read.)

This is the Consent Agenda as published.  Would anyone like to remove any items or add any items to the Consent Agenda? (pause)

Does anyone have a potential conflict of interest on agenda item 4.3? If so, please state the check number that you will be abstaining from voting on.

Rationale:  Standing Committees
 A monthly agenda presented to the board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration in the standing committees.  
 

• Finance and Facilities Committee
• Leading for Learning Committee
• Personnel Committee
• Policy Committee
• Public Relations and Partnership Development Committee
• Governance Committee
• GNSA/Legislative Committee

Rationale:  Honor Students who earned Gold Keys in the Scholastic Art Awards at Grand Island Senior High.

Cindy Garcia- Clay - Bust
Kalyssa Littlejohn- Graphite Drawing - Self Portrait
Angella Nguyen- Ink Pen Drawing - Self Portrait
Aspen Poltack- Cardboard Mask - Lion Head
Amy Smith- Graphite Drawing - Their Life
Eboni Sughroue- Oil Painting - Connections

Rationale:  Clark Boettger (12th grader) will be joining me to talk about his experience in TeamMates for 7 years and his Osborne Opportunity scholarship. 
Nancy Jones of Teams will also give background for the update.

Rationale: 

• Each person addressing the board will be allowed 5 minutes. The Board of Education has the prerogative to limit speaking to 3 minutes when there are three or more patrons to allow speakers an opportunity to address the Board in a timely manner.
• We allocate up to 30 minutes for addressing the board at each regular board meeting.
• Please face the Board,  not the audience when you speak
• We want to hear what is being said so we ask the audience to refrain from making comments or sounds that make it hard to hear the speaker. 
• No signs are allowed in the boardroom.
• We will not engage in dialogue with patrons presenting to the Board, the purpose of the requests to address the board is to listen to patrons.
• The Board president and superintendent will identify staff to follow-up on information requested from patrons when necessary.
• At regular business meetings any school district-related matter can be presented to the Board, but only agenda items can be acted upon during a given meeting. At special meetings, comments will be limited to the subject of action items of the meeting's agenda. 
• Speakers will not be permitted to make defamatory comments, or use abusive or vulgar language. 
• Expressions of personal complaints about staff or students are discouraged at public meetings. Concerns about individuals should be brought to the attention of the appropriate administrative authority. Specific building or program concerns should be brought to the attention of the building principal or program supervisor.

Rationale:  Mr. McFarland will introduce Chief Denney - newly appointed Chief of Police

Rationale:  The Health Occupations Student Association (HOSA) will present information on the health fair held at GISH on March 18, 2023.

Rationale:  I would like to formally invite the Board of Education to the celebration.

Rationale:  In order to meet college and career readiness benchmarks and support objective 2.2 on the On Track to Thrive 2025 Strategic Plan, students would benefit from access to high-quality instructional materials that focus on essential content and provide a balance.

Rationale:  In order to meet college and career readiness benchmarks and support objective 2.2 of the On Track to Thrive 2025 Strategic Plan, students would benefit from access to high-quality instructional materials that focus on essential content and provide a balance.

Rationale:  In compliance with Nebraska PL 79-724 and GIPS Board Policy 2230

Rationale:  Pat has been working for the past 16 months on a fellowship project studying student needs across campuses as relates to high school graduation. His capstone project is being presented in May to the other Harvard fellows, and this is a chance for him to share his key findings.

Rationale:  Purchasing replacement equipment will continue to provide high-quality infrastructure to reduce downtime, increase security and maintain manufacturing support on critical production systems.

Rationale:  The school district wishes to divest of the property located at 4360 W. Capital Avenue, which is the site of the old Early Learning Center.  The property was declared as surplus property at a previous board meeting.  Attached to this agenda item is a listing agreement with Realtor Al Avery.  The school district will need to enter into the attached agreement and to designate the board president, Mr. Hank McFarland to execute the sale of the property on behalf of the school district.

The listing agreement has been reviewed and modified by the school district's legal counsel.  The listing and the disposal of the property has also been discussed and agreed to over numerous months by the Finance and Facilities Committee.

Rationale:  Grand Island Public Schools currently invests funds held by the school district as cash reserve and as proceeds for bond fund payments in the Nebraska Liquid Asset Fund (NLAF).  The district has enjoyed a long and stable investment history with NLAF. However, the investment products that are made available to the district through NLAF can be somewhat limited, contingent upon market conditions.  Due to the fact that investments are somewhat limited, the district is unable to maximize its capital investment to help offset operating costs and debt repayment.  

First National Capital Markets offer additional, secure investment opportunities for the school district, such as the opportunity to invest in treasury products, which produce a higher rate of return on investment than the CD investments typically offered by NLAF.  The recommendation from the Finance Office is to open an account with First National Capital for the purpose of creating additional investment tools to the district's portfolio in order to make the best use of the taxpayers' investment in the school district.

The NLAF will continue to be utilized in combination with the First National Capital Markets investment tools to maximize the school district's rate of return on investments.  First National Capital Markets investment tools simply represent another resource for the Chief Financial Officer and the Facilities & Finance Committee to use.

The utilization of First National Capital Market Account has been discussed and considered by the Facilities and Finance Committee for the past several months, and the committee has approved the creation of the account and its use by the district.

In order to establish the account with First National, I would request that the Grand Island Board of Education approve the Incumbency Certificate and Resolution that is attached to this agenda item.  Doing so will allow me to create an account with First National Bank, and it will designate the appropriate district representatives to transact on the account.  Those who will be authorized to transact on the account, through approval of the resolution, will be, Matt Fisher, Hank McFarland, Robin Dexter, and Ken Schroeder.

Rationale:  In conjunction with the creation of the First National Capital Market Account, Grand Island Public Schools will need a Business Operating Account to manage financial transactions with First National Bank.  The recommendation is to open a Simple Business Account with the First National Bank branch in Grand Island, Nebraska, for this specific and solitary purpose.  The board president, superintendent, board secretary, and the chief financial officer should be authorized to transact on the account.  

Rationale:  Dr. Dexter will present revisions to the 2023-2024 Student/Parent Handbook 

Rationale: 

Mr. Petsch will present the construction update. 

Rationale: 

Mr. Zach Cloutier will present the student representative's report to the board. 

Rationale: 

Mr. Fisher will present the superintendent report. 

Rationale:  Master Agreement with the GIEA

Rationale:  The school district wishes to divest of the property located at 4360 W. Capital Avenue, which is the site of the old Early Learning Center.  The property was declared as surplus property at a previous board meeting.  Attached to this agenda item is a listing agreement with Realtor Al Avery.  The school district will need to enter into the attached agreement and to designate the board president, Mr. Hank McFarland to execute the sale of the property on behalf of the school district.

Rationale:  Grand Island Public Schools currently invests funds held by the school district as cash reserve and as proceeds for bond fund payments in the Nebraska Liquid Asset Fund (NLAF).  The district has enjoyed a long and stable investment history with NLAF. However, the investment products that are made available to the district through NLAF can be somewhat limited, contingent upon market conditions.  Due to the fact that investments are somewhat limited, the district is unable to maximize its capital investment to help offset operating costs and debt repayment.  

First National Capital Markets offer additional, secure investment opportunities for the school district, such as the opportunity to invest in treasury products, which produce a higher rate of return on investment than the CD investments typically offered by NLAF.  The recommendation from the Finance Office is to open an account with First National Capital for the purpose of creating additional investment tools to the district's portfolio in order to make the best use of the taxpayers' investment in the school district.

The NLAF will continue to be utilized in combination with the First National Capital Markets investment tools to maximize the school district's rate of return on investments.  First National Capital Markets investment tools simply represent another resource for the Chief Financial Officer and the Facilities & Finance Committee to use.

The utilization of First National Capital Market Account has been discussed and considered by the Facilities and Finance Committee for the past several months, and the committee has approved the creation of the account and its use by the district.

In order to establish the account with First National, I would request that the Grand Island Board of Education approve the Incumbency Certificate and Resolution that is attached to this agenda item.  Doing so will allow me to create an account with First National Bank, and it will designate the appropriate district representatives to transact on the account.  Those who will be authorized to transact on the account, through approval of the resolution, will be, Matt Fisher, Hank McFarland, Robin Dexter, and Ken Schroeder.

Rationale:  In conjunction with the creation of the First National Capital Market Account, Grand Island Public Schools will need a Business Operating Account to manage financial transactions with First National Bank.  The recommendation is to open a Simple Business Account with the First National Bank branch in Grand Island, Nebraska, for this specific and solitary purpose.  The board president, superintendent, board secretary, and the chief financial officer should be authorized to transact on the account.  

Rationale: 

The Panorama Survey surveys students, staff, and parents to gather input on how they and their students are supported in school. This tool is used to monitor school climate and culture in GIPS schools. The NDE school improvement process requires a survey to gather student, staff, and parent input.

Panorama Education partners with schools and districts to collect and analyze data about social-emotional learning, school climate, family engagement, and more. With research-backed surveys and a leading technology platform, Panorama helps educators act on data to improve student outcomes. Panorama has supported more than 5 million students in 6,500 schools across 45 states, which allows for the development of valid and reliable questions to collect, disaggregate, and compare data to inform school improvement.

Rationale:  A monthly report to the Board and community on the major items discussed and under consideration by the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.

Rationale:  Regular Board of Education Meeting - May 11, 2023 at 5:30 PM.