(Courtesy)
GRAND ISLAND – Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) was recently notified by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) that the district will be impacted by a funding allocation error, according to Superintendent Matt Fisher.
“NDE informed us that due to a miscalculation in their process, GIPS received approximately $5 million too much in state aid for this school year,” Fisher said.
“What does this mean? We anticipate to receive about $5 million less next school year to even the balance. While that is a noticeable amount, we are grateful to report that the loss will not affect student programming or activities; nor will this impact current staffing,” Fisher said.
“We plan to absorb the adjustment through cash reserves and will reallocate some of what we’re funneling to our special buildings fund. As always, we’ll continue with business as usual, focusing on supporting our staff as they educate our 10,000 students.”
TEEOSA, which stands for Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, is the name of Nebraska’s public school finance formula.
“During a recent audit, a mistake in the Tax TEEOSA calculations was discovered that resulted in the overpayment of more than $30 million to Omaha Public Schools. Grand Island Public and Southern Public were also significantly impacted,” according to David Jespersen, a public information officer for the Nebraska Department of Education.
“This error also means that many other districts that rely on equalization aid from the state received less than they should have. The Nebraska Department of Education has worked to correct the error for the 2025/2026 TEEOSA calculation and for all future calculations. The correction to the TEEOSA calculation will reallocate funds to the appropriate districts in the 2026/2027 TEEOSA payments as directed by State Statute,” Jespersen said.
