Changes to the COVID recovery plan protocols and the creation of a fiber loop were approved by the Neenah Joint School District Board of Education at its Nov. 2 meeting. The Board also reviewed the curriculum additions, deletions and revisions (CADR) for the 2022-23 school year.
The COVID protocol changes will make masks optional for students, staff and visitors at Shattuck Middle School, Neenah High School and the District Office building effective immediately. If the percentage of students who are absent due to positive COVID-19 cases exceeds 2% of the student population in the building, masking will again become mandatory. For grades 4K-6, masking will remain mandatory. Effective January 3, 2022, masking will be optional at all buildings. This date was chosen based on anticipated availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 through 11.
A change in contact tracing procedures will also be effective immediately at all grade levels. Students deemed a close contact to a positive case at school will be notified by the school. Close contacts to a positive case will be allowed to remain in school and will not be required to undergo a PCR test.
The fiber loop will replace the current “hub-to-spoke” configuration that can cause disruptions in the system. The loop will service all current and potential future buildings with the main data center and fiber distribution hub housed at the new Neenah High School. It will ensure network availability in the case of a service interruption at any point along the path. The total cost is about $1.35 million, however, it also reduces the need to lease fiber from other entities and provides the District the opportunity to generate income by leasing fiber space to other entities. Funding for the fiber loop will be achieved through a combination of the operating budget, short-term borrowing, computer trade-ins and a potential federal grant.
The CADR proposal recommends the addition of courses within the art, business information technology, ESL, physical education and technical education departments at Neenah High School. In addition to the recommended additions, there are a number of revisions to course offerings at the high school. Shattuck Middle School is proposing a change to its integrated math experience to better align with the course sequence to prepare students for Algebra I in eighth grade. The proposal will be voted upon at the Nov. 16 meeting.
The Board approved the hires of Cale Pulczinski as the Director of Facilities and Maintenance, Melanie Nytes as an educational assistant at Taft and Maria Boerschinger as the District Office receptionist and pupil services administrative assistant. Resignations were approved for high school scheduler/data clerk Jessica Jacklin-Neerenberg, effective Nov. 23, high school computer technician Neal Pynenberg, effective Nov. 24 and District accountant Lauran Buechel, effective Dec. 2. An end-of-year retirement was approved for Pupil Services Director Tim Gantz.
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