A proposal to change the elementary school boundaries and facility usage on the east side of Neenah was reviewed by the Neenah Joint School District Board of Education at its December 7 meeting.
The plan calls for Horace Mann to be reformatted into an elementary school for the 2023-24 school year when fifth and sixth grade students move to the existing high school. The Roosevelt and Wilson boundary areas would be combined with those students attending Horace Mann. Under the plan, Alliance would expand to a two-section school and occupy the current Wilson building, while Roosevelt would close.
Some Board members worried that the plan was being rushed through and the plan provided too much change at one time with the high school and middle schools opening the same year. Concerns were also raised that the community was assured during the referendum process that their voice would be heard in the future planning of the District, but with a vote planned in two weeks, this plan was not allowing for enough community input.
Dr. Pfeiffer and other Board members countered that there were exactly zero comments during the open forum and no comments from any community members over the weekend for or against the proposal. Opinions were offered that the community expected a plan of this sort, it has been adequately communicated to the people affected and there is urgency to make these changes.
A community listening session regarding the plan will be held on Wednesday, December 15 at 6 p.m. at Horace Mann. The Board will vote on the plan at its next meeting on December 21, though some Board members seemed to indicate a desire to postpone the vote to obtain more community feedback.
In action items, the Board approved the 2022 summer school proposal with no discussion. The proposal was unchanged from the report the Board reviewed at its previous meeting. A policy for public requests, suggestions or complaints was also approved.
Hires were approved for Shawn Ostrowski as a high school math teacher and Maya Allwardt as the high school scheduler/data clerk. Resignations were approved for Iryna Kim at Spring Road, effective December 17, and Lauren Fox at Washington, effective December 22. End-of-year retirements were approved for high school associate principal Bill Richardson, Tullar teacher Desiree Lulloff, Transition Education Center director Lori Wirkes and Shattuck educational assistant Kathleen Hans.
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