jehoede / Depositphotos.com
GRAND ISLAND — The Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education approved this spring approximately $5 million in budget cuts for the upcoming school year.
One of the areas affected is student busing.
Virgil Harden, chief financial officer for Grand Island Public Schools, gave a presentation at the Thursday, June 13, Board of Education meeting about busing expenses for the 2024-2025 school year and budget reductions. The expenses and budget reductions were listed on a spreadsheet.
The district will pay $1,411,534 for student busing/transportation costs for the 2024-2025 school year. The district cut $786,519 in busing expenses from its budget. The bus routes cut included Barr Middle School (two), Walnut Middle School (four), Westridge Middle School (one), and Grand Island Senior High School (five). Harden noted that the district will continue to provide busing related to after-school activities to encourage participation in those activities. The district will find a way to provide transportation for a student to school if it is a barrier for the student to attend school.
According to the school district, these routes will continue:
- Transportation for students who qualify for support from Families in Transition.
- Transportation for special education students.
- Three van routes (elementary, middle school, high school) for students in need.
- Gates and Knickrehm routes to Westridge Middle School.
- High school to Career Pathways Institute and back.
- Career Pathways Institute continuous shuttling.
- Skills Elementary, Middle, and High School.
- Both Newcomers routes.
In another matter, the Board voted 5-0 to authorize the Board President to sign a purchase agreement on behalf of the district for a real estate purchase agreement for the former Starr Elementary School building at 315 Wyandotte St. Board members Lisa Albers, Eric Garcia-Mendez, Hank McFarland, Katie Mauldin, and Amanda Wilson voted for the motion. Board members Josh Hawley, Josh Sikes, Dave Hulinsky, and Lindsey Jurgens were absent from Thursday’s meeting.
The school district is selling the building to the YWCA for a purchase price of $500,000. Harden said that the YWCA has made an earnest payment of $50,000. The closing date for the sale is Aug. 16. The building is being sold “as is.” The Board discussed the sale in a closed session last month.
In another matter, Harden informed the Board of Education about Substitute Pay Rates for the 2024-2025 school year. The rates are: Regular, $188.74; Long-Term Regular, $222.05; Retired Substitute, $206.67; Retired Substitute Long-Term, $264.54. Harden noted that the substitute pay framework is shifting to an eight-hour day where substitutes will be paid on a per-hour basis for the time they actually work.
The Board heard an update from Associate Superintendent Dr. Summer Stephens on the school district’s partnership with Care Solace, a mental health care coordination service for K-12 school districts. For instance, Care Solace helps connect students with mental health providers. Care Solace serves 850 school districts. In January 2024, the school district partnered with Care Solace to provide care coordination services for the remaining five months of the school year as well as the summer. The cost spent since January is $28,500 out of Title 4 funds.
Care Solace provides access for students, staff, and families. So far, Care Solace has had 48 cases and 2,401 total communications. The company provides multilingual support, care regardless of insurance, and easy access to care.
Care Solace since January has had 334 inbound interactions, 2,057 communications saved, 9 declined services, and 21 appointments into care.
Care Solace has a line of services that starts with an intervention. From there, the case proceeds to a “warm handoff/care match” from a school staff member or self-search. Then, Care Solace provides care coordination. It works with providers and community-based organizations to find the right care for the person in need. Next, the person is matched with services and receives assistance.
Mental health needs have been anxiety, trauma, disruptive, ADHD, marital issues, suicide, eating, OCD, and bipolar. 73 percent of people served have been White, 24 percent have been Hispanic, 2 percent have declined to answer, and 2 percent have been Native American/American Indian.
Stephens also gave a presentation about parentguidance.org and its provider, Cook Center for Human Connection. The school district receives mental health series resources events. Each event includes flyers, social post images, email and text reminders, and replays of webinars. Parents are receiving monthly newsletters and seasonal coaching flyers.
The Family Wellness Site includes links to newsletters, upcoming events, parentguidance.org website resources, and embedded short videos
Eleven parent-coaching registrations occurred between January and May 2024.
Mental health seminars offered in English and Spanish were: grief, your child’s anxiety, and emotional regulation.
Stephens gave the Board an update about required climate/culture surveys and social-emotional learning competencies. The district has had a contract with a company called Panorama to provide those services. Climate/culture survey information is gathered from students in grades 3-12, staff, and families. For the 2024-2025 school year, the district will move to gathering the climate/culture information just in the spring.
The social-emotional learning survey will be administered in the fall and spring.
The district will cut the contracted services with Panorama from $52,000 to $15,000.
In another matter, for the past five years, the Nebraska Department of Education has paid for NWEA Map Growth for grades 3-8 for the past five years as part of their Statewide Assessment Plan. They are no longer offering to pay for this assessment. To pay the additional cost for NWEA Map Growth grade 3-5 licenses, $58,375 was requested. The Board voted 5-0 to approve the request. Also, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the classified staff wage increases for the 2024-2025 school year.
For the Nutrition Services Department, the school district is spending down approximately $800,000 of $3 million balance in the fund. One of the spend-down items is to pay off all debt related to this fund. The amount being paid off is approximately $285,000 of the $800,000 excess cash balance. The motion for debt pay-off passed by a 5-0 vote.
The Board voted 5-0 to approve classified staff wage increases for 2024-2025. The pay schedule will not be adjusted. The proposed 6.12 percent increase in classified staff wages would amount to $1,179,920.
