A recommendation of updates to the elementary Human Growth and Development curriculum was reviewed by the Neenah Joint School District Board of Education at its June 5 meeting.
The discussion lasted over two hours as Board members deliberated about the content of some of the books and questioned whether the community was given proper notice about two public dates to review the materials.
Board members specifically discussed some of the illustrations in a book titled, “Who Has What?” and most believed they were too graphic for young students. It was noted that a total of three community members viewed the materials on May 24 and May 29, prompting Board members to ask for an additional date that will be advertised to the entire community. The additional date has been scheduled for June 12 from 4-8 p.m. at the Administration Building.
The recommendation is scheduled to be voted upon at the June 19 meeting. However, some Board members questioned whether that will be enough time to review all the materials and gather community feedback. Administrators requested that a vote be held so that they can begin preparing the curriculum for the 2018-19 school year. Board members discussed how the voting procedure will happen and determined they will likely vote on the curriculum by each grade level.
In other action, the Board approved final revisions to the 2017-18 budget. Primary reasons for the final revisions were full knowledge of 2017-18 federal budget projects, a final reconciliation of open enrollment students and allocation of a portion of “flow-through” carryover funds.
Hires approved included Alyssa Breider as a counselor at Shattuck, Alicia Casey as an EBD teacher at Wilson, Cassandra Corrado as a kindergarten teacher at Spring Road, Deirdre Floros as a speech and language teacher at Washington, Lauren Gauerke as a literacy coach at Hoover and Taft, Kody Kellner as an elementary ELL teacher and Kimberly Kargus Myers as a high school math teacher. Victoria Fahrbach was approved as Transitional Learning Coordinator at Shattuck and Elizabeth Zerrien was approved for community outreach at the high school. The resignation of Wilson teacher Jordan Dykstra was approved along with a one-year leave of absence for elementary music teacher Penny Paiser Wilson. The Board also approved policies regarding board member compensation and group health plans.
High school teacher Brian Borchardt was honored for receiving the Jack Casper “Service Above Self” award from Neenah Rotary and youth apprenticeship students and employers were also recognized by high school career center specialist Lori Uvaas.
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