Neenah Apparel Store Open Through November 29
Those looking to purchase Neenah Rockets gear can do so through the holiday apparel store offered by Eagle Graphics.
A wide variety of items are available until November 29, including Neenah fleeces, polos, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, pants and more. All items will be available before Christmas.
Orders can be shipped or picked up. A portion of the sale supports Neenah schools. Check it out here: https://neenahjointnov20.itemorder.com/sale
District Tax Levy Comes in Below Projection
Neenah Joint School District residents will see a property tax increase of 98 cents per $1,000 of property value in 2021, which is one cent lower than projected following the passage of a referendum in April. The tax levy was certified by the Board of Education at a special meeting on October 27.
The total mill rate will be $7.84 per $1,000 of property value, which is still below the rate from 2017 when residents paid $8.05. Included in the tax levy is over $1.5 million toward private school student vouchers. Without including these vouchers and measuring only funds going directly to the Neenah Joint School District, the mill rate would be 33 cents lower at $7.51. Despite the increase, District residents will still pay among the lowest school district taxes in the Fox Valley.
The overall increase follows a successful $114.9 million referendum in April 2020 that will build a new high school, renovate the existing high school into intermediate and middle schools for grades 5-8, create more space for elementary students and enhance District-wide safety and security. Outside of referendum dollars, the District will also be updating all buildings with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) enhancements. Construction on the new high school will begin in the spring of 2021 with the school scheduled to open in the fall of 2023.
Part of the reason the District was able to keep the tax increase lower for property owners was by fully spending last year’s budget and receiving an increase in state aid. One of the biggest expenditures was the purchase of a 220-acre property for the new high school for $3,405,000 without needing to borrow. The District used only $483,747 of its fund balance for the purchase.
In June, the District became one of the few school districts in the state to fully fund its post-retirement benefits liability. The payments over the past eight years toward the $100 million liability opened up over $5 million in the annual operating budget that will be used towards the facilities upgrade, reducing the size of the referendum amount. The District will also be providing 2.5 percent salary increases for all staff members. District staff members have received increases for over a decade, resulting in one of the highest staff retention rates in the Fox Valley.
The full budget presentation may be viewed by clicking here
Neenah H.S. Named to ESPN Special Olympics Honor Roll
Neenah High School has been recognized as one of 36 Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools nationwide on the 2020 ESPN Honor Roll. The list includes elementary, middle, high schools and colleges across the country.
Neenah High School is the only Wisconsin school on the list and one of 22 high schools. The program's three main components are inclusive sports among students with and without disabilities, inclusive youth leadership and whole school engagement.
One of Neenah High School's most notable achievements has been a unified basketball game that typically takes place each November with the school's Special Olympics team taking on a team of faculty members. Last year, the Special Olympics team included students without disabilities for the first time. The game also features a halftime performance with a unified dance team and a large student section.
Neenah High School has also had unified teams compete in track and field and several of the varsity athletic teams have held events in conjunction with the Special Olympics team. The school is among a small group of Wisconsin high schools with its own Special Olympics program. Head coach Chad Oeftger was selected as a basketball coach for team Wisconsin at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle.
Neenah has taken its inclusion efforts across all levels in recent years as Shattuck Middle School also offers a unified program under coach Jenni Oeftger and unified events have been held at several elementary schools. A Young Athletes Program has been held the past two years during the winter where children with and without disabilities ages 3-10 participate in various athletics activities together.
Click here for the ESPN Honor Roll
Elementary Restructuring Process Underway
The Neenah Joint School District is beginning the planning process for a restructuring of its elementary program beginning in 2023-24.
As part of the District's successful referendum in April, fifth graders will move to the new intermediate school and the elementary program will consist of students from kindergarten through fourth grade. This will result in approximately 20 fewer classes and about 500 fewer students across the District’s nine elementary buildings. Additionally, with sixth graders moving to the intermediate school, Horace Mann School will be available and considered in future planning.
The Board of Education held a brainstorming session this summer related to the elementary program and facilities. That activity led to the creation of a committee consisting of administrators, teachers, staff members, parents and community members. The group will begin meeting in October and will be charged with developing a recommendation for the elementary program starting with the 2023-24 school year. The group’s initial work will be devoted largely to facility use with discussions about building capacity, building use and school boundaries. The committee plans to bring an initial recommendation to the Board in May or June 2021.
The District will offer opportunities for community feedback throughout the process and has not begun making any decisions at this point.
Three Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists
Three Neenah High School seniors have been named semifinalists for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program.
Rachel Strandberg, Alicia Zhang and Daniel Zhao were honored for their performance among more than 1.5 million students nationwide who entered the 2021 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
A total of 16,000 semifinalists were named nationwide, representing less than one percent of high school seniors. The three Neenah students are each vying for one of 7,600 National Merit Scholarships, which total more than $30 million. Final scholarship awards will be announced next spring.
Strandberg is the daughter of David and Lisa Strandberg and attended Roosevelt Elementary School. She has a 3.821 grade point average while taking numerous advanced courses.
Zhang is the daughter of Ron Zhang and Yan Luo and attended Coolidge Elementary School. She is a member of the Touch of Class orchestra and owns a 3.992 grade point average with a schedule of advanced courses.
Zhao is the son of Hongwu Zhao and Hong Yao and attended Clayton Elementary School beginning in fifth grade. He has a 3.957 grade point average while participating in several advanced courses.
The National Merit Scholar Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by the corporation with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions that share its goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
Neenah Students to Receive Free Meals
Neenah Joint School District students will not be charged for school meals through December 31, 2020 through a federally-funded waiver program.
All virtual learners and any child 18 or under who resides within the District boundary are also eligible for free breakfast and lunch. A weekly meal pickup of breakfast and lunch will be offered for students who are not attending schools in person. These meals may be ordered for a single day or for the entire week and all orders will include both breakfast and lunch. An order form will be available each week on the District food service website for families to order meals for the following week.
Additionally, the cost of any meals served during the first week of school to virtual and in-person learners will be refunded to families’ meal accounts by the week of Sept. 14.
Lunch is available at Neenah High School, Shattuck Middle School, Horace Mann Middle School, Alliance, Clayton, Coolidge, Hoover, Lakeview, Roosevelt, Spring Road, Taft, Tullar and Wilson Elementary Schools.
Breakfast is available at Neenah High School, Shattuck Middle School, Horace Mann Middle School, Hoover, Spring Road, Taft and Wilson Elementary Schools. Optional lunch and breakfast a la carte items such as milk, extra entrees or bottled water will remain at regular prices.
Families who may qualify for free or reduced lunch should continue to submit applications through this form as meals will be charged beginning in January.
Five Selected to NJSD Hall of Fame
Five prominent alumni comprise the Neenah Joint School District’s sixth annual Hall of Fame class in 2020. Those inducted, pending Board of Education approval, are Dr. Gary Losse, Todd Patterson, Vern Wollerman, Marti (Schreier) Wronski and Robert Yablon. The group brings the total members of the Hall of Fame to 39.
The inductees were selected by a committee of 15 individuals that included former and current employees and alumni. The Board of Education will vote to formally approve the class at its March 3 meeting. The group will be honored at a banquet on Sat., Sept. 19 at 11:30 a.m. at Best Western Premier Bridgewood Resort Hotel and Conference Center in Neenah as part of the District’s homecoming festivities. Tickets will go on sale in early August.
Update: The 2020 Hall of Fame banquet has been cancelled. The inductees will be inducted during the 2021 event on October 9, 2021.
Losse, a 1967 graduate, was an accomplished three-sport athlete and went on to a prestigious medical career as an orthopedic surgeon. Losse was an all-state quarterback on Neenah’s undefeated team in 1966 and an all-state guard in basketball. His junior year, he led the Rockets to a conference football championship, a state tournament appearance in basketball and a state title game in baseball as a shortstop and pitcher. Losse played two seasons of football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before knee injuries ended his career. He earned his medical doctorate from UW-Madison and later spent 17 years as the team doctor for the San Diego Chargers. Losse performed one of the first outpatient anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgeries in California and also developed several innovative knee braces and surgical techniques. He died in 2018.
Patterson, a 1974 graduate, has a unique combination of success in athletics and fine arts. He captained the football and wrestling teams and was also active in choir and swing choir. Patterson was a four-year starter in football at Carthage College and earned his degree in biological science. He taught science at Wooster (Ohio) High School from 1978-2013 and coached football, wrestling, soccer and softball. Patterson produced and directed 34 productions of musical theatre and plays and was active in Wooster community performing arts productions. In 1998, he was one of five teachers selected from the U.S., Mexico, England and Bermuda to participate in the JASON Project Expedition IX in Monterey, Calif. Patterson resides in Wooster, Ohio.
Wollerman, a 1942 graduate, was a World War II veteran and returned to his hometown to serve as a longtime police officer and active community member. Wollerman joined the Neenah police force in 1946, serving as chief from 1973-86. He also started the city’s little league baseball program. Wollerman coached all levels of sports in the community and was a WIAA official for 37 years. He served on the Neenah Parks and Rec commission and was a member of Knights of Columbus, Elks Club, Neenah Club and Twin Cities VFW, while serving on the Board of Directors for the Appleton Foxes, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Neenah/Menasha YMCA. Wollerman helped Neenah to the semifinals of the 1942 state basketball tournament and led the Rockets in scoring at the tournament. He died in 1992.
Wronski, a 1990 graduate, serves as General Counsel and Senior Vice President-Administration for the Milwaukee Brewers. She graduated from St. Norbert College in 1994 and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in 1997. Wronski worked five years at a Milwaukee law firm and became an assistant professor at Marquette University Law School in 2002. In 2003, she joined the Brewers and still serves as an adjunct professor at Marquette. She gave the commencement address at St. Norbert in 2015 and was a member of the St. Norbert Board of Trustees. Wronski has been a board member for the Milwaukee Children’s Museum, Miracle League Milwaukee and Make-A-Wish Wisconsin. She and her family are known for adopting the Brewers’ newest mascot, Hank the Dog, which has expanded her charitable outreach. In high school, she participated in cheerleading, French Club and yearbook. Wronski resides in Bayside, Wis.
Yablon, a 1995 graduate, was a champion debate student and Rhodes Scholar. He graduated with high honors in 1999 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in political science and economics as one of the top four students in the College of Letters and Science. Yablon graduated from Yale Law School in 2006 and served as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. He worked at a law firm in San Francisco from 2010-14 and has served as a law professor at UW-Madison since 2015. He is active in the Madison community with several service organizations. As a senior, Yablon was valedictorian and helped Neenah become the first school in Wisconsin history to win all three state varsity debate titles in the same year. He resides in Madison.
Nominations for future Hall of Fame classes are accepted through the Neenah Joint School District website. Forms are also available at the District Office. Individuals need to be nominated by November 30 to be considered for the upcoming year. Once an individual is nominated, he or she will be considered every year.
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