Dan Petsch, director of buildings and grounds for Grand Island Public Schools, gives a presentation to the Board of Education Dec. 11 about 2025-2026 facilities projects in the school district. (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – Dan Petsch, director of buildings and grounds for Grand Island Public Schools, gave a presentation about facilities projects for the 2025-26 fiscal year at the Dec. 11 Board of Education meeting.
The total cost of the 43 projects is $10,157,000.
The most expensive items on the list and that exceed $1 million in cost are an HVAC upgrade at Barr Middle School for the two-story, three-story, and old main gym parts of the building, $2,930,000; upgrading security cameras and vape detection at 11 buildings, $2,418,000; replacing the asphalt parking lot at the Kneale Administration Building with concrete, $1.3 million; and replacing the seating and carpeting and upgrading the electronics systems at the Grand Island Senior High School Planetarium, $1 million.
Petsch said that one component of preparing the projects list was touring schools in the district.
“A lot of hours went into this,” he said.
Projects on the list are ranked by building priority and district priority. The top two priorities both for buildings and the district were replacement of the asphalt parking lot at the Kneale Administration Building and renovation of the planetarium at Grand Island Senior High School. The parking lot and planetarium projects will be funded through the district’s depreciation fund.
Petsch said after the meeting that work on the Kneale Administration Building parking lot would probably start in March. He said there is a safety improvement with having a concrete parking lot, which is lighter in color, because it is easier to see things such as ice.
Petsch said he was excited about the improvements that would be made at the high school’s planetarium.
“It’s a community asset,” he said.
At the October Board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Virgil Harden gave an overview of the renovation at the planetarium. The planetarium is approximately 60 years old. The planetarium has a 30-foot diameter fixed dome. Items to be included in the renovation included two projectors to be mounted under the cove on opposite sides of the dome.
The facilities projects are funded from three main sources: the Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund (QCPUF), $4,067,000; the General Fund, $1,942,500; and the Depreciation Fund, $4,105,000. Other sources funded projects totaling $42,500.
Harden said that last year. Harden said that last year, $7.2 million in bonds were issued for QCPUF. Projects have to meet specifications to be paid for through the fund. QCPUF funding is authorized by Nebraska law and is usually tied to bonds or levies for capital projects.
Another high-cost item on the project list was upgrading the network wiring system at six buildings for $995,000. Petsch mentioned that lighting at Walnut Middle School will be upgraded to LED lighting for a cost of $275,000. Also, 17 pole lights will be replaced with LED fixtures at Walnut Middle School for $50,000.
Gym floors will be replaced at Howard Elementary School ($80,000) and Dodge Elementary School ($80,000); and redone at Walnut Middle School ($50,000). Wayfinding signage will be placed at Barr, Walnut and Westridge Middle Schools at a cost of $200,000.
Cory Gearhart, chief information officer for the school district, gave a presentation about a lease-purchase agreement with Apple Inc. concerning 1,000 13-inch Mac Book Air computers and 1,000 units of the Mosyle OneK12 platform. It is a platform designed specifically for K-12 school districts. Gearhart said that the district would only be dealing with one platform for staff. He said that the resale value of Apple computers was higher than for PCs. The total cost of the computers is $779,000; the total cost of the Mosyle OneK12 is $29,000; and the school district would receive a $100,000 discount for a prompt order for a total cost of $808,000. The purchase is available at 0 percent interest. The school district will make five payments for the items, starting with a $20,000 payment in January 2026. The remaining four payments are for $197,000 each and are scheduled for Sept. 15 in 2026, 2027, 2028, and 2029.
The school board voted 6-0 to approve the computer lease-purchase agreement. School board members Donna Douglass, Josh Sikes, and Carlos Barcenas.
Carrie Kolar, Chief of Human Capital Management for the district, presented information about the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic calendar drafts. One concern that was expressed by staff was having too many professional learning days. After consulting with school district leadership staff, the number of days was kept the same, Kolar said. The starting date for the school year will be one week earlier in August.
A concern is the high number of unfilled coverage for staff absences on the last Friday in September. The school district was unable to cover 37 of those absences. Board member Lisa Albers asked whether the situation was due to the scheduling of the annual Junk Jaunt at that time. Kolar responded that a number of events were scheduled at that time period. In 2026, the last Friday is Sept. 25. A planning and prep day is proposed for that date. In 2027, the last Friday in September is Sept. 24. A planning and prep day is also proposed for that date.
Superintendent Matt Fisher gave a information-only presentation about three school district policies. One policy concerns student and staff memorials. Fisher commented that the goal was to steer clear of as many of the memorials as possible. A memorial page in the high school yearbook is well-received. A new policy is for use of video surveillance in schools. The policy addresses mounted cameras and body cameras. Recorded footage is property of the school district. Video footage is used for purposes such as investigating disciplinary incidents. The district has to provide notice that security cameras are in use. The video cameras cannot be placed in areas where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as restrooms or locker rooms.
Mitch Roush, director of communications and marketing for the school district, gave a presentation about the annual Superintendent’s Holiday Card Contest. The winning artwork is used on a holiday card for the school district. Roush said that the district received more than 1,400 submissions, compared to approximately 1,000 a year ago. After some of the submissions are eliminated, entries are placed in the Kneale Administration Building, and the more than 100 staff members in the building vote on their favorites. Superintendent Matt Fisher selects the finalists and overall winner. Finalists from elementary school, middle school and high school were recognized Dec. 11. Layla Gerber, a ninth-grade student at Grand Island Senior High School, submitted the winning entry.
Superintendent Matt Fisher reported that heater for the YMCA’s pool was not working. He said that means that the high school’s swimming team does not have a place to practice or host swimming meets.
