Neillsville District Administrator Discusses Items From Neillsville's February School Board Meeting

Monday, February 23rd, 2026 -- 2:01 PM

The Neillsville School Board held their monthly meeting for February this past Monday.

I spoke with District Administrator Corey Peterson and he went over some of the items from the meeting in more detail including…

Listen to the interview with Mr. Peterson here!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns on what’s happening at the District, you can contact Mr. Peterson.

(AI assisted transcription via Otter.ai)

Riley: "One of the first things the board did is they actually had a public hearing on a petition to detach a parcel of property from the School District of Loyal and attached it to the School District of Neil;sville. Now, ultimately, the Board did deny that resolution. But could you kind of explain what that was all about?"

Mr. Peterson: "Yes, correct. The petition came forward from a resident in the Loyal School District looking to detach from Loyal and adjoined to Neillsville. This isn't an usual situation. They have come up and so certainly you have DPI protocol to which we follow in going through that statutorily, the item goes on the February agenda to make sure that it is prepped and ready to go."

"In doing so, as you work through that, you have to make sure and consider all angles as to how it will support or have a difficult issue for any of the districts involved, and I say any of them, because certainly we have to consider all students, all districts, as to our decision and what we're making."

"We take a look at it. We look at a lot of the characteristics of our district, how it aligns, taking a look at the needs and the kids, looking at the impact of the reorganization, as to the financial impact and just the property swap that could potentially come into play."

"And then you look at the economic levels and everything else to come into play, you want to consider all angles in doing this. And again, while it's not a usual element, there is a protocol in place through the state to guide this process."

"We followed through that to make sure that we were hearing all angles and looking at that ultimately, in the end, the board and considering all angles chose to deny. And so we will move forward with that particular plan in place."

Riley: "And now the Board also approved next year's school calendar for 2026-27. Is it a typical looking calendar? Was there anything out of the ordinary? Or how does that look for next year?"

Mr. Peterson: "The 2026-27 school calendar will have a couple changes to it. We take a look at in aligning with what a lot of districts are doing, we are going to have some August dates in the calendar."

"So, August 25th will be our first day of classes. So, we'll have three days in August prior to that, September one. If you take a look around, most districts are doing something similar in this day and age."

"So, we are going to line with going with August 25th for our first day of classes for students to come back. Other changes that may come into play that would be unique to the 2026-27 school calendar, we tried to change the parent teacher conferences in the fall to try to get a little more evening hours for our parents."

"I know that that is a more popular element of time than maybe during the day, trying to meet them where they're at to make sure that we have the opportunity to serve them and their needs."

"So, we looked at it adding another. We have a second evening in the fall for parent teacher conferences. In addition, you're also going to see two dates labeled on the calendar that will be called Data Days/Virtual Learning Days, one in September and one in February."

"And those dates have the goal of ultimately allowing our district staff to take a look at the data that have been obtained through our fall screeners, major screeners, align our instruction to those to make sure that we are working internally for continuous improvement, to focus in on how we can be better, and utilizing that to the maximum that we can."

"And providing time so we can change our instruction as needed throughout the year and respond to the needs. What will happen during those days? That it will be a virtual learning day, so students will have access to resources and will be sent home."

"It'll be a planned entity. So, we'll see that right away in September, and that will kind of get us geared up for the plan for as we flow into the winter season and what might be needed when Virtual Learning Days come into play in the middle of the year."

Riley: "And the board did approve a few donations as well. Can you touch on those?"

Mr. Peterson: "We were very, very fortunate again this month. I mean, you take a look, we are constantly the beneficiary of our kind and caring community. We had Becca Bernhagen, which we talked about in the past, she was a recipient of our Crystal Apple Award, and has donated her $200 back to the PBIS fund here at the elementary and that's amazing. So, thank you very much."

"Atmus has provided us with some lunch bags and gloves. So, they had some extra supplies. They said, 'can you use them?' Absolutely. JBC was kind enough to donate to our second graders for some field trip t-shirts. And certainly they come in handy when you're trying to make sure you have all the kids. And you know where everybody's from, if you're in the masses. And we appreciate that."

"Unity Bank has donated around $300 from our lunch with loved ones. So, last week, on the 13th, we had Lunch with Loved Ones here where our elementary was packed with loving families and parents and grandparents that came in with our little ones."

"Unity Bank was kind enough to donate that money back from their stuffed animal flower sales on that day for our playground fun. Unity Bank is also taking the spirit debit cards funds that they've raised and donating those to the district. MEC provided us $800 to use towards our senior presentations and our high school STEM activities."

Riley: "As we talk here on February 20, the school district did have to close due to some inclement weather. Now, as you move forward, here, can you talk a little bit about that process when it comes to, you know, makeup days, virtual days, that sort of thing? So, our listeners know kind of what to expect should we receive some more, you know, inclement weather before the before the season is over?"

Mr. Peterson: " Well, we know we live in Wisconsin, and we got to be prepared for everything. You know, the weather pops up, and we have to be prepared. So, in doing so, similar to the last couple years, whether it be this year and or moving forward, our school calendar allots for two snow days."

"So, built in traditional snow days, where the first two days that would be called off, ultimately, there will be no expectations of the students, as far as work or the like, sent home. Ideally, they would be genuine snow days like we're having today, and in doing so, kids can get outside, enjoy the weather."

"Beyond that, because of the days that are calculated into our calendar in the minutes, therefore to hit our end of the year instructional minutes, we have transitioned, as to many districts into virtual learning days to cover those extra days that maybe, in the past, had to be tacked on at the end of the year."

"Now we have transitioned to a virtual learning setup. So, for instance, on a day like today, when the weather is not cooperating, we are going to move to a virtual learning where at the elementary and middle school you see a lot more of the packets or materials that are sent home on paper."

"High schoolers may have some a blend of online work and or hand materials, but those elements will take over on a day like today to consider, for our instructional purposes, to align with our minutes and continue to work towards the end of the year, total minutes that we need."

"Same thing moving forward, if we are from this point forward, because we've used up our two snow days. Anything from this point on, would be a virtual learning day for these inclement weather."

"If it's a two hour delay, a two hour delay would just be a standalone delay, and we'd get the kids running it in here, whereas a virtual learning day, if we have to cancel fully, then we would move to an online setup or materials that were passed out through the school district to the students and families to utilize for their instructional purposes on a day like today."

Riley: "Anything else?"

Mr. Peterson: "Well, we alluded to the donations, but you know, we are very, very much appreciative of everything that comes our way. We have so many business vendors in the district that are our mentors. They are providing extra guidance. They're providing support."

"But I also want to just take a key celebration, each day I'm able to watch a lot of our high school students that are able to be mentors for our little ones down here in the elementary and I think that's the key thing to note, is that there are great things happening in the hallways and with the kids mentoring each other and guiding them."

"So, you know, while we're a lot of times focused on the exterior elements, whether it be the weather, whether it be elements going on and at the board level, a huge celebration is within the building, knowing that we have a lot of great leaders, our high schoolers are stepping to the plate and mentoring our little ones each day, and it's just a great thing to see. And I want to celebrate our high school kids and the greatness that they bring."

(Photo courtesy of the Neillsville School District)

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