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GIPS superintendent eager to move forward after district budget cuts
A central Nebraska school district is preparing for the school year.
Monday, July 15th 2024, 5:40 PM CDT
Updated:
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - - A central Nebraska school district is preparing for the school year.
After a year and a half of being Grand Island Public Schools superintendent, Matthew Fisher said budget cuts have presented a challenge.
“I think we’ve made some really good progress in identifying needs that existed, certainly the need to reduce our budget as being a key focus,” said Fisher.
Earlier this year, GIPS presented a plan that reduced $5 million to their $130 million district budget.
As part of their budget cut, they got rid of a social worker position, cut some of the Academies and Pathways programs and now the district has reduced the number of bus routes.
“Transportation was one of those items that was identified as an area where cuts could be made as part of our cost saving measures that we went through this past year,” said Fisher.
Fisher said the district principals met and identified that GIPS could remove $500,000 from the transportation budget.
In a social media post, some parents voiced their disappointment in losing the bus routes, saying it interferes with students access to education. Fisher says he’s aware it will create some hardships for some students and encourages them to reach out to Dr. Summer Stephens at the Student Services Department.
“We knew that it was going to create some hardships and expected that there would be some criticism around that," said Fisher. "It’s always unfortunate when you have to make some cuts. It does have negative impacts on the things that are important to people.”
In response to the cuts, the community is coming together to find solutions. Some people are offering rides and the local Rotary Club approved grant funding to provide help with transportation needs.
“We’re really waiting to see where the needs exist. Every family situation is a little bit different. “
The district said that it is sharing the information before the school year so that families can work on a solution before classes start. For a complete list of the routes available for next year visit https://www.gips.org.