Free lunches and breakfasts will continue to be available during the summer through a drive-through, pick-up service. When considering recommendations for enhanced safety protocols, social distancing, staffing, as well as product on hand, the lunches will transition to a drive-through, pick-up operation. This transition will allow for hot menu options, including kid-favorites such as pizza and chicken nuggets.
Meals will be offered Monday-Thursday from 11-11:30 a.m. beginning Monday, June 8. Meals will be served at Tullar, Taft, Wilson and Roosevelt Elementary Schools through August 20, and at Clayton Elementary School through June 30.
During operation hours, parents/guardians will be able to drive to the school pick-up site and notify staff of how many meals are needed for children 18 years and younger. Breakfast will also be distributed daily. Friday meals will be distributed with Thursday’s pick up.
The last day of the food delivery service will be Thursday, June 4. There will be no lunch and breakfast delivery on Friday, June 5, but two lunches and breakfasts will be delivered on June 4.
Ten Neenah Schools Earn PLTW Distinction
Neenah High School is one of eight Wisconsin high schools honored as a Project Lead The Way Distinguished High School award winner and nine of the District’s elementary schools were also honored for launching their Project Lead The Way programs.
Neenah High School was one of 143 high schools nationwide honored with the award and the only Wisconsin high school with more than 1,100 students in grades 9-12. The award honors schools committed to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in their programs. To be eligible for the designation, schools must offer at least three Project Lead The Way courses. At least a quarter of the school population must be enrolled in the courses while taking end of course assessments and having diverse participation.
Nine elementary schools in Neenah launched Project Lead The Way in 2016-17 with the program fully implemented in the curriculum for the 2018-19 school year. Clayton, Coolidge, Hoover, Lakeview, Roosevelt, Spring Road, Taft, Tullar and Wilson Elementary Schools were among 404 elementary schools honored nationwide and 23 across Wisconsin.
The Distinguished School award recognizes schools committed to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their Project Lead The Way programs. To be eligible for the designation, schools had to offer at least two Launch modules at each grade level and have more than 75 percent of the student body participating during the 2018-19 school year.
“This is a tremendous honor for our District to have so many schools recognized with such a selective award,” Superintendent Dr. Mary Pfeiffer said. “Our staff has put in years of hard work with the Project Lead The Way curriculum to reach this point and we are so proud to see them honored for the outstanding program they are providing our students.”
Project Lead The Way empowers students to develop in-demand, transportable knowledge and skills through pathways in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. The program’s teacher training and resources support teachers as they engage their students in real-world learning. Approximately 12,200 elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states offer Project Lead The Way programs.
Click here for community resources, lunch delivery information, health information and technology help related to the COVID-19 closure.
Neenah Voters Approve $114.9 Referendum
Students in the Neenah Joint School District will attend a new high school and have expanded space and facilities for all students in the fall of 2023 after voters supported the District’s first successful facilities referendum in over 25 years.
With the $114.9 million amount as well as $47 million of borrowing from the District budget, the District will build a new high school on a 225-acre parcel currently located in the Town of Neenah. The existing high school will be converted into a middle school for grades 7-8 and an intermediate school for grades 5-6. The plan will close 92-year-old Shattuck Middle School in the fall of 2023 and move fifth graders out of elementary schools. Safety and security upgrades that are part of the plan will begin already this summer.
The election was held on April 7 and results were released on April 13. A federal judge ruled that municipalities must allow until April 13 for absentee ballots to arrive before providing a final count.
“This is an historic day for the children of the Neenah Joint School District and our entire community,” said Superintendent Dr. Mary Pfeiffer. “This was a plan that was driven through community input and we are so thankful to be in such a forward-thinking community.”
The passed referendum comes one year following a failed $129.58 million referendum that would have built a new middle school to replace Shattuck. The passed referendum comes at a significantly lower tax impact than the previous year. Residents will see an impact of $99 per $100,000 of property value over 20 years, compared to $167 per $100,000 of property value in 2019.
“Last year’s defeat was difficult, but our community helped us shape an even better plan,” Pfeiffer said. “This is a plan that addresses a great majority of our needs in less than four years. We still have work to do at our elementary level, but this plan gives us the flexibility to potentially address those needs without another referendum.”
Pfeiffer added that the tax impact will not be felt until the District begins borrowing money for the project and that it will likely be even less than the $99 that was projected due to historically-low interest rates.
“We are sensitive that the timing of this referendum is challenging for some in our community,” she said. “We hope to take advantage of extremely low interest rates to minimize the impact on our residents. This will hopefully bring our community together as we overcome these difficult times.”
Neenah’s last successful facilities referendum was Feb. 21, 1995 with a $15 million referendum to build the link at the high school and make upgrades at other schools. The District’s buildings are all over 50 years old and average over 70 years old.
