Citizen Portal
Sign In

Grand Island board elects Hank McFarland president, Josh Hawley vice president

Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education · January 8, 2026

Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts

Subscribe
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

At its Jan. 8 reorganization meeting the Grand Island Public Schools Board elected Hank McFarland as president (4–3 written ballot) and Josh Hawley as vice president (7–0). The board also reviewed operating principles and required members to acknowledge the code of ethics.

Hank McFarland was elected president of the Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education at the board’s reorganization meeting on Jan. 8 after a written ballot, receiving four votes to three for fellow board member Josh Hawley. The board then elected Hawley as vice president by voice vote, recorded as seven in favor.

Dr. Stevens opened the reorganization, announced the two candidates for president and oversaw nominations. Eric Garcia Mendez nominated Josh Hawley; Miss Wilson nominated Hank McFarland. The board conducted a written ballot for president and later moved and approved separate motions to accept both the president’s and vice president’s terms of one year or until successors are elected and qualified.

The newly chosen president and vice president will serve one-year terms or until their successors are qualified, as the board noted. Dr. Stevens also walked members through board operating principles and the Board Member Code of Ethics, asking each member to sign an acknowledgement that they had reviewed and would adhere to the policy statements.

Board members affirmed motions and votes without further recorded dissent. The change in leadership will take effect immediately as the board moved to the next agenda items.