Grand Island school board to look at school lunch price increase

The Grand Island school board will be asked to raise the cost of full-price school lunches and breakfasts by 10 cents for the 2008-09 school year.

The cost of reduced price lunches is set by the federal government, so no board action is needed for that portion of the program. Reduced-price school breakfast will be 30 cents and reduced-price school lunch will be 40 cents, both prices applicable to all grade levels.

Proposed meal prices are $1.25 for elementary breakfast and $1.75 for elementary lunch; $1.30 for middle school breakfast and $1.95 for middle school lunch; $1.30 for the Senior High breakfast and $2.05 for Senior High lunch.

In other action, Joyce Schmeeckle of Schmeeckle Research in Lincoln will give a report on the school social workers and TeamMates Mentor programs.

Through a grant, the Grand Island school district has hired five social workers whose job duties include expanding elementary school counseling services and improving elementary students' academic performance by addressing barriers to learning.

Part of their work also includes helping students and their families access community resources and providing assistance with crisis intervention services for both students and staff in the case of a significant traumatic event.

Because of unspent money from the grant's first two years, a sixth social workers is scheduled to begin working in the grant's third year.

Schmeeckle also will talk about the TeamMates program which has a three-year grant to add 35 new mentors in year one, 35 new mentors in year two and 40 new mentors in year three.

Most matches are intended to be made in the sixth grade so there is a potential of the match continuing through the student's senior year.

Project goals also include improving student achievement in core academic subjects and improving student readiness to learn by improving behavior in school.

Benchmarks were established for matches that are sustained for at least 12 months as well as benchmarks for the percentage of students who improve their academics and the percentage of students who reduce their unexcused absences from school.

The board will be asked to accept recommendations on pay for extra standard coaching assignments. The total cost for all five recommendations is an estimated $12,000.

Recommendations include:

-- Raising the salary for varsity coaches in football, boys and girls basketball, and volleyball to 18 percent of teacher base pay, which would equal total extra standard pay of $6,372 for the coming school year. The change is proposed to keep pace with varsity coaches' pay in other districts.

-- Increase the number of elementary instrumental music extra standard positions from four to six. The goal is to increase instructional contact time for students while simultaneously ending the practice of pulling students out of class for instrumental lessons during the school day.

-- Add the position of Character Education Coordinator at Senior High. This is a new curriculum for freshmen.

-- Add a second assistant swim coach to the swim program, which will allow coaches to specialize on specific swim events. That should result in attracting more student participants and fielding a competitive team.

-- Add a varsity assistant soccer coach to both the boys and girls program. That would keep the student-coach ratio at the desired 15-to-1 level.

The board also will be asked to rename the Grand Island Public Schools Administration Building for Michael S. Kneale, former Grand Island superintendent of schools.

The board also will be asked to recognize numerous students. They include:

-- Stolley Park students Blake Coen, Riley Rathje, Nathan Boon, Sydney Armstrong, Bayley Gardner and Brady Brokaw for being on the Destination ImagiNation team that has qualified for Global Finals in Tennessee.

-- Grand Island students Kuulei Hose, Preston Fegley, Susanna Zach, Donald Nabity and Josh Mathews for top placements in regional and state 2008 Math Counts competition.

-- Grand Island students Hope Jensen, Jarod Kennedy, Michelle Fierro, Jessica Nuno, Brandon Gannon, Alec Redwine, Ryan Earl, Bryce Williams, Tanner Cook, Jacob Eastwood, Walker Roscoe, Hayden Vahle, Ethan Larson, Joe Bamesberger, Zach Kneale and James Swanson for top awards in the 2008 State Apple Digies Contest.

-- Grand Island students Taylor Castaneda and Jarod Kennedy for winning their categories in the 2008 Nebraska Educational Technology Association or NETA state competition.

-- The entire Senior High 2008 boys baseball team for winning the state championship, Alex Armes for winning the state  track meet 200 meter dash and Brigette Root for winning the No. 2 singles tennis state championship.



If You Go

What: Grand Island school board

When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Grand Island Public Schools Administration Building, 123 S. Webb Road.

On The Agenda: Proposal to raise school lunch prices; report on social worker and TeamMates program; recommendations on extra standard pay; proposal to name Administration Building for Michael S. Kneale, former Grand Island superintendent; and student recognition.