Beginning in the fall of 2014, Taft Elementary school will serve students through fifth grade and Washington Elementary school will reopen as an Early Learning Center following the approval of elementary restructuring plan by the Neenah Board of Education on Dec. 17.
Since 2008, Taft had been the site of the Early Learning Center and overflow kindergarten classes from other schools. However, the new plan will reopen all 12 Taft classrooms as a regular kindergarten through fifth grade school. Washington has been closed since 2008 and was the previous site of the Early Learning Center.
The plan includes boundary changes for the elementary schools as well, though the final boundary changes will be determined by a vote in February or March following kindergarten registration. The objectives of the plan are to accommodate students to their closest school, allow schools to use instructional space efficiently and appropriately, and continue to keep low class sizes.
“These changes achieve all of our primary objectives,” said Superintendent Mary Pfeiffer. “Best of all, we will to continue to offer low class sizes, which is a top priority for our District.”
During 2013-14, Neenah has 85 kindergarten students relocated to Taft. There are also a total of 150 students who are not attending their “home” school. The new plan would assist many of those students to be able to attend a school closer to home. The new boundaries primarily affect students currently attending Hoover and Tullar Elementary Schools. Some students attending Coolidge and Wilson Elementary schools are also affected.
The plan also helps resolve a current issue where schools are holding classes in areas that are not designated classroom areas. For instance, Coolidge has 17 classes in 16 classroom spaces, while Wilson and Tullar each have 17 classes with only 15 available class spaces. All of these schools will have the appropriate number of classes under the approved plan.
Neenah has one of the area’s lowest elementary class sizes with an average of 21.5 students per class and those numbers will be maintained. There will be slight increases to the maximum caps for each grade, but only to allow flexibility in keeping students at their “home” schools. The overall District class size average will likely remain the same.
There will be a one-time maintenance cost of approximately $886,675 to reopen Washington as some parts of the roof, parking lot, and boiler system need to be upgraded. This cost will be paid from the District’s fund balance account. Washington will also get upgrades in technology and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning. The recurring costs of opening Washington will be approximately $50,000 annually.
There will be $240,000 in staff increases from the new plan as a full-time administrator will be added at Taft and a half-time administrator at Washington. An administrative assistant and library media specialist will be added at Taft. Another $240,000 in staff changes was approved as part of the plan, but is not directly impacted by the changes. Staffing will be increased in elementary literary and math support, wellness, and counseling. There also will be a reduction of seven special education assistants and the hiring of two full-time special education teachers.
The School Board approved the final plan after four years of discussion over several different options. The plan was presented to the public at an informational meeting on Dec. 6 at Shattuck Middle School.
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