Neillsville District Administrator Discusses Items From Special June board Meeting

Friday, June 6th, 2025 -- 2:00 PM

The Neillsville School Board held a Special Board Meeting to start the month of June.

I spoke with Neillsville District Administrator John Gaier and he discussed the items approved including items for the continuing facilities upgrade project at the District.

Listen to the interview with Mr. Gaier here!

As Mr. Gaier mentioned, the Board will be holding another meeting on June 30th and, as always, the public is welcome to attend.

(AI assisted transcription of the interview by Otter.ai):

Mr. Gaier: "One of the things that the Board did have to do is we did have to make an adjustment based on shipping delays for a lot of electrical equipment."

"So, they did have to approve a temporary electrical connection to the middle school that will be done this summer, so the middle school will be fully powered for the next school year, and they will finish then the final connection next summer, when all of the equipment is in after those shipping delays."

"The second thing that they did approve was part of the phase three construction, which is the final phase of the construction projects. They are some changes and updates to our agriculture room, to the guidance office and to the high school lobby area. So, those were approved as well. So those projects will be getting done this summer."

Riley: "And the Board also approved the 2025-26 academic standards and educational options, which is something that's done every year. But could you touch on what what those are?"

Mr. Gaier: "By law, we have to have those approved each year and then posted on our website, so anybody can go out on our website and see those academic standards and educational options that we do provide."

"We provide all educational options that are available to kids anywhere. So, we are proud of that, also school performance report cards and things, there are links to those on that website posting as well. So, folks can certainly go out and see that, but it is something that we need to do annually, and our board did that at the last meeting."

Riley: "The Board also approved some memberships to a few different organizations. Can you touch on those?"

Mr. Gaier: "Sure, the first is the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, which is the professional association for our school board members. That Association provides workshops and updates on current topics for our board member members and keeps them on top of all the educational issues that are out there."

"So, it's a good membership for our board members to be a part of. The second that was approved was our WIAA membership, which is our athletic membership organization in the state of Wisconsin."

It is no cost to be a member of the WIAA, but they do provide all of the tournament series for our high school sports and they are the governing body of our high school sports here in Wisconsin, so being a member of that and giving our kids the opportunity to participate, not only in athletics, but in the tournament series at the high school level, is important for our kids."

Riley: "And then the Board also approved an anonymous donation. Can you touch on that?"

Mr. Gaier: "Each year, at least in the past few years, we've had a wonderful wildlife author that has come and presented to our kids here and has autographed books for our kids; and this anonymous donation was a $500 donation, actually, to help pay for that author's visit. So, we are very grateful for that and our kids just are intrigued by meeting this author and being able to read his books. "

Riley: "Is there anything else then, anything else you'd like to touch on that we may not have already discussed?"

Mr. Gaier: "There are a couple things. One, just an update for folks, the district is really working hard right now on making sure all policies are updated, all handbooks are updated, and that the infrastructure will be completely new all throughout the building by the end of this summer or certainly the end of the following summer."

"So, making the transition into next year and years beyond are going to be so smooth for new folks that are here. So, we are proud of the work that a lot of the district folks have been doing in those areas."

"Also, just to let anybody know, if anybody's interested in applying for a position here, any openings are posted on our website and we do post those in the Clark County press as well."

"So, if anybody's interested in any of those openings, they can take a look and contact us with any interest that they might have. And the last thing I guess I would let folks know is our next meeting is going to be scheduled for June 30. So, actions will be taken again on June 30 to advance the district and provide more and more opportunities for kids."

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.