About Chaperone
Chaperone is a nonprofit, political action committee that has been organized to focus on bringing endorsable candidates to run for the Board of Education and beyond.
By definition, a Chaperone is “a person who accompanies and looks after another person or group of people.” Going forward, Chaperone vows to keep a watchful eye over our school administration and Board of Education while supporting our teachers and students.
Our mission is to ensure that the community of Grand Island is armed with the knowledge to elect constituents who will serve with their community’s best interest at heart and with no intent for personal gain. Every student and educator deserves to be given the tools and resources to contribute to our community’s success.
Our Brand
Our logo was made using nine circles that connect together to form the word “chaperone,” and there is a space within the logo to separate the word “one.” These nine circles represent the nine seats on the Board of Education.
Our tagline, “ONE vision, ONE community, for everyONE” captures the sole purpose of Chaperone.
Our Team
We have assembled a Lead Committee of 20 voting member families who have been instrumental in creating the structure of the organization. Included in this committee are Chaperone’s leadership, which is comprised of:
Tom Wald - President
Tim Klemme - Vice President
Tracy Goodman - Secretary
Bryan Frew - Treasurer
In addition to our Lead Committee Member Families, we have a group of over 75 volunteers who are willing to assist where needed as we go through this process. This volunteer group grows each week and is comprised of current and former teachers, business owners, and concerned citizens.
How to Help
Chaperone would not be possible without the help of volunteers, donors, and supporters. We are truly an organization that was built by our community, for our community.
If you would like to assist in our efforts to enact change within GIPS, please don’t hesitate to reach out today by clicking the button below. We are always looking for more volunteers, graciously taking donations, and accepting nominations for future Board of Education candidates. Please also consider sharing our mission with others and following us on Facebook.
Our History
Chaperone’s first campaign was launched in the fall of 2022, just eight weeks before Election Day. The three candidates we endorsed had never served in public office before, and two were running as write-in candidates. The odds were stacked against us.
We went to work educating the community about Chaperone, the candidates, and our goals. Both Ward A write-in candidates, Amanda Wilson and Josh Sikes, worked hard to spread information about their campaigns and how to vote for a write-in candidate to ensure that they were heard before the November election. Chaperone’s third candidate, Hank McFarland in Ward B, was on the ballot but continued to rally just as hard, showing the community that he valued the education the students of GIPS were receiving.
Both write-in candidates in Ward A won a seat with Josh securing 2,144 votes (23.97% of the vote) and Amanda Wilson garnering 2,030 votes (22.7% of the vote). With over 46% of the Ward A votes being cast for Chaperone’s endorsed write-in candidates, this was a huge victory for Josh and Amanda, Chaperone, and Agency 877. In Ward B, Hank McFarland achieved a landslide victory with 2,319 votes or 65.94% of the vote, easily defeating his incumbent opponent.
After the 2022 Election
After the tremendous success of the 2022 election, Amanda, Josh, and Hank focused on fulfilling their promise of creating a better environment for the teachers and students of GIPS. The Board of Education has made great progress in achieving this goal, including taking steps such as:
Hiring an interim superintendent, and, after seeing his professionalism, knowledge, and expertise in the role, promoting him to superintendent. As a result, the Board felt comfortable reducing their influence to allow him to manage his plant and people.
Reducing the number of committees from 25 to 6.
Overseeing the cutting of $5 million from the budget, beginning with Administration.
Beginning to ask harder questions of the District Leadership Team, which resulted in the delay of a reorganization of the middle schools that could have been problematic.
Reducing Board exposure in the media.
Reducing Board exposure at the District Leadership Team level.
Choosing to put the Board in an advisory role for strategic planning as opposed to including the board in strategic planning.
Holding Board members accountable for unprofessionalism.
Actively attempting to sell superfluous GIPS properties.