Neillsville District Administrator Discusses Items From June School Board Meeting

Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 -- 1:00 PM

The Neillsville School Board held their monthly meeting for the month of June on Monday.

I spoke with outgoing District Administrator John Gaier, as Monday was the last meeting he participated in as Administrator, as well as incoming Administrator, Corey Peterson, and they discussed items from the agenda in more detail.

Listen to the interview with Mr. Gaier and Mr. Peterson here!

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the District, you can contact Mr. Peterson. And I’d like to thank Mr. Gaier for taking the time to speak with me over the years regarding what’s happening at the Neillsville School District.

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

Riley: "First, the Board heard some building and grounds updates, can you touch on those?"

Mr. Gaier: "We got updates about both projects, now remember, we have two projects going on. We have the referendum project, which is all a lot of the inside work. All of that is on time as of now and going very well."

We are under budget right now, which is good news, and hopefully that continues as we move forward. Then we have the front addition, which is a different project outside of the referendum funding and we got an update on that."

"Because of all the rain, we are a bit behind on that, so hopefully some time can be made up there. But everything is going well. The plans are moving forward and we hope that everything will be done by the time school is ready to go."

Riley: "The Board also heard the Achievement Gap Reduction Report, can you touch on that?"

Mr. Gaier: "Sure, the elementary principal, Marcy Kunze, gave the update. This is a report on grades 5k through three in both reading and math achievement and growth."

"So each year, the board has to approve a mid-year report where goals are set to look for reading growth and growth in mathematics of our 5k through grade three students."

"And then at the end of the year, that final report is given and then that is all submitted to the state of Wisconsin DPI. The reason that we are involved in that is because it does provide funding for the school district for reducing class sizes in grades 5k through three."

"So, we can use that money to hire teachers to keep class sizes low during that time and we are seeing significant growth in both reading and mathematics."

"So, that is exciting for kids and we know with that early intervention in learning, that will carry over and make kids much more successful as they grow older. So, we're really excited about how that's going."

Riley: "The Board also approved meal prices, can you touch on that?"

Mr. Gaier: "There was a little bit of an increase in breakfast of $.25 cents and milk at five cents. So, next year's costs will be, for the elementary school, lunch will be $3.25 and for the high school $3.75. Milk prices will be $.50 cents. And breakfast for all kids would be $2, which is still a pretty good price for kids being able to get two of their meals a day here."

Riley: "The Board also discussed CESA 10 Library Support, can you explain that?"

Mr. Gaier: "Right, so what we are going to do next year is we're going to hire a Library Lead that is not a certified librarian to manage our day-to-day libraries and we are contracting with CESA 10 for a licensed librarian that will guide that person on a daily basis."

"There will be some in district work and some remote work that they will do. They will also be providing a 36 week elementary curriculum for the library person to deliver to our elementary kids when they are having their library time. So, we're really excited about that."

Riley: "The Board also discussed the WIRSA membership, can you touch on that?"

Mr. Gaier: "We did not get the updated membership cost for this year yet, but we have been members of the Rural Schools Alliance, which supports the rural schools in Wisconsin."

"So, we're hoping to get that and have that approved at the July meeting, but we have been members for a number of years. It is a group that advocates specifically for the rural school needs in Wisconsin."

Riley: "The board also approved setting a temporary fund 10 budget. Can you explain again why that is typically done?"

Mr. Gaier: "So, the school district fiscal year goes from July one to June 30th, and so, as of Monday, our current budget ended, so we needed to have an approved fund 10 budget to operate on until the annual meeting, which will be in October, when the actual fund 10 budgets will be set, or the entire district budgets will be set at that time, once all of the state information has been received as of October 15th."

"So, in order to operate under an approved budget, at least a temporary approved budget, the board does each year, at the end of June, approve a budget for the 2025-26 school year, or the very next school year, so that they are operating under an approved budget until that annual meeting, when all taxpayers have the ability to come and discuss the budget or hear about the budget proposal from the School District of Neillsville."

Riley: "And the Board did approve a couple donations. Can you touch on those?"

Mr. Gaier: "Yeah, we had two really nice donations. And again, a huge thanks to all of our community members who helped sponsor really great things for kids, but we got over an $11,000 donation from the Booster Club to help with upgrading things in our weight room."

"So, the weight room is being upgraded as well as all of the facility through our referendum. So, it's an exciting time to be a part of Neillsville. Also, JBC has donated a plaque for Tucker Johnson, who was the division three state golf champion and that will go into the trophy cases in the field house. So, we are very appreciative of those donations."

Riley: "Anything else?"

Mr. Gaier: "A couple things that were discussed at the meeting is there is a TID district meeting coming up for the city. They are looking at approving a TID district so that the community can continue to grow and that will be on July 8. So, the board did select a representative to be the school representative for that meeting."

"Also an exciting thing is we offer industry recognized certifications for our Tech students. So, we have had 19 Tech students in the 2023-24 school year that received industry recognized certifications."

"And what these are are pretty strict goals that kids have to meet for educational technology or tech ed type things to get ready for careers in the tech field. So, the district because of those 19 incentive or recognized certificates, received $11,865 that can now be spent to help our technology programs continue to grow and offer more for those kids.

"But to have 19 kids finish those industry recognized certifications was pretty incredible and we are really proud of them for doing that makes them really career ready to go right into the next their specific industry field that they are interested in right away."

Riley: "And just the last thing that I would like to mention is, of course, this past meeting on Monday was your final school board meeting, at least in the administrator capacity. Do you just have any kind of final thoughts as you make your way into retirement?"

Mr. Gaier: "I will tell you it has been a wonderful experience to be here. I and my family feel truly blessed to have been a part of Neillsville for 40 years and will continue to do that with grandchildren in the district right now."

"But Neillsville has been a special place and it is a special place to raise kids. The reason I think that we've stayed as long as we have is because we have a community that really supports our kids and really steps up when our kids need it the most and I am just truly appreciative of the opportunity."

"We have had great school board members to work with, we've had great families to work with, and my tenure here would not have been nearly as successful without all of the support of our staff and our community and our school board members."

"So, just a special thanks from me and the very best wishes. Corey is with us right now, and he is going to do a bang up job here, and we really look forward to the continued growth and opportunity for kids here in Neillsville. So, just a special thanks to the community for all that they have done to support me and especially our kids here at the School District of Neillsville."

Riley: "Mr. Peterson, anything to add as you begin your time in Neillsville?"

Mr. Peterson: "First and foremost, I want to say congratulations to Mr. Gaier. He's done an amazing job here, having come full circle and been under his tutelage from the staffing side of things, and now, taking over."

"He set the precedent high and congratulations in doing so. It's very well deserved for his retirement. Moving forward, just hoping to carry that torch high and proud."

"And as far as where we're at, where we're going. An amazing community to serve. Been great the first couple days on campus here to be able to meet and greet people."

"And there's a lot of pride and it's definitely a top down process of everybody's proud of what's going on here, and rightfully so. Exciting times with all the referendum action going on and solidifying things."

"So, congratulations to Mr. Gaier. Be very proud of what you've established here and I hope to carry that forward."

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