September 17, 2024
A message from Superintendent Matt Fisher (also published in the Grand Island Independent on 9.18.2024 HERE):
Budget season has arrived once again as the fiscal year for school districts in Nebraska runs from September 1 through August 31. Our 2024-25 school year has started strong and we are looking to carry that momentum through with a renewed focus on setting our students up for success.
The beginning of a fiscal year is always marked with the approval of a budget and the setting of a tax request to support that budget. Part of the process is the annual budget workshop.
Our Grand Island Public Schools (GIPS) district will hold a budget workshop this week on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kneale Administration Building.
What is the Annual Budget Workshop?
Board of Education members participate in a public budget workshop to review and give feedback on the proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The community is invited to attend the budget workshop to hear that discussion (a public comment period is always offered during Board meetings). The Board also hosts a public hearing to take public comments concerning the proposed fiscal year 2024-25 budget. The hearing is immediately following the budget workshop at approximately 6:30 p.m.
In preparing for the budget workshop, GIPS will be sharing with the Board and the community a few key highlights for our tax payers.
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AFTER A YEAR OF FINANCIAL REDUCTIONS, OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET HAS FIRM FOOTING.
Much of our 2023-24 school year was dedicated to re-shaping finances in our district. In order to fund anticipated future increases in the costs of goods and services, as well as increases in salaries and wages, the GIPS district needed to reduce General Fund budgetary costs by an estimated $4,250,000.
Why?
Among many contributing factors, the main motivations for the necessary budget reductions included:
- Federal Covid dollars going away at the end of the 2024 summer.
- Continuing our commitment to compensating our teachers and staff in a competitive fashion.
- Better preparing for the fluctuating school funding model by the state.
While the process of reducing our spending was a painful process, we learned a lot about our district and each other throughout the year. Our school leaders and staff came together to identify solutions we felt were sustainable while minimizing the impact of the classroom experience for our PK-12th Grade students.
We can confidently say that GIPS is poised to be in a more financially sustainable position going forward.
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WE ARE LOWERING THE TAX LEVY FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR.
In virtually unprecedented fashion, GIPS will be lowering the tax levy two years in a row. Last year (2023-24) we were able to alleviate some of the taxpayer burden by decreasing our overall levy by nine cents.
For the 2024-25 school year, we anticipate being able to lower our levy by an additional 1.7 cents while maintaining what we need to fund our district and support our students and staff.
Over the last two fiscal years the 10.7 cent levy reduction equates to $5,194,000 savings to the Grand Island Public Schools patron at today's assessed valuation level.
In our combined effort with the community to shape the education and the future of our students, we hold a responsibility to recognize the taxpayer’s burden. We are grateful for every opportunity we have to lighten the load for our community — even if only a little bit.
Listen to "The GIPS Cast" podcast interview with Matt Fisher & Virg Harden on the 2024-25 Budget
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REBUILDING CASH RESERVES IS STILL A LONG TERM FOCUS
GIPS is continuing to make strategic investments in order to take care of today’s needs and plan for the future. This includes rebuilding necessary cash reserves to improve our financial position and to maintain our “AA-/Stable” Bond rating (Affirmed by S&P Global Ratings on 09/06/2024) . This also helps us lower the cost of our bond debt and keeps us from having to borrow money.
Simply put, we want to ensure our district’s financial position remains strong. It makes good business sense to continue doing what we can to rebuild cash reserves.
We are committed to operating [and spending] within our means to provide the best educational experience possible for our students.
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FIND MORE RESOURCES AT www.GIPS.org/Budget.
Be sure to explore our budget resources on our district website!
Available on-demand to you is a podcast episode featuring a conversation with our Chief Financial Officer, Virgil Harden, and myself sharing a deeper look into this year’s budget.
You will also be able to find a snapshot of our financial overview from the last three years through our Annual Report publications.
We will update the www.GIPS.org/Budget page with more resources and frequently asked questions as the year progresses.
Our echoing message at GIPS — and within the Grand Island community — is we are doing this work together. We are unified in our goal to provide every opportunity possible for our staff to inspire today’s students so they may have better tomorrows.
We, our students and staff, appreciate your trust and your partnership as we continue doing all we can to ensure our mission of Every Student, Every Day, A Success is lived in each of our classrooms.
- Matt Fisher
Superintendent, Grand Island Public Schools
#WeAreGIPS
