5 things to know about construction progress at the new Neenah High School
NEENAH - You can really start to envision passing periods, science experiments and basketball games as the new Neenah High School being built in Fox Crossing starts looking more like a school and less like a construction site.
Since the last public tour in October, there's been noteworthy progress to the inside of the building. District communications manager Jim Strick said work on the inside started with the academic wings and will continue to progress inward with the cafeteria and atrium still in early stages.
The district hopes to have another public tour in the spring, according to a recent Facebook post, but until then, here are five things to know about construction progress and transitioning the current high school into the middle school.
Classrooms are starting to take shape
The academic wings are the farthest along, with some classrooms almost ready for furniture. Many of them already have paint on the walls and carpet and lights installed.
The technical education areas still need some work, though. Classrooms for robotics, welding and such still have a way to go, Strick said.
Athletic spaces are getting final details
The four-court gymnasium that will be used for practice, freshman basketball games and extra tournament space is just one detail away from being complete. The floor is in, red and gray details are painted on the walls, hoops are up and ready to be dunked on and scoreboards are hung on the wall. All that's left to install is a small number of bleachers.
The competition gym is also coming along well. Scoreboards and video boards are installed and flooring was laid last week. Bleachers will come next, now that flooring is in.
Timeline is still on track
The $171 million project is still on track to hit its target of wrapping up by early July. Thanks to forward thinking, which procured supplies early on, the district has continued to avoid supply chain delays, Strick said.
And since much of the exterior work was done during warmer months, the recent cold snap and snow didn’t impede workflow.
Although school doesn't start until September, fall sports start practicing in the summer so the July timeline will allow those teams to start using the new turf football field, weight room and other facilities for the upcoming season.
Renovating the current high school to a middle school
The work to convert to the fifth-through-eighth grade building was divided between last summer — which converted lab spaces to future fifth grade classrooms — and this year.
Renovations will resume in April and focus on the technical education areas. Strick said that area was “a mismatch of different classrooms that have evolved over time.” So, those areas will be reworked to be more functional for the middle schoolers.
Students switched to virtual learning at the end of last school year because of the work being done to the school, but Strick said that shouldn’t be needed this year.
Preparing for the summer shuffle
Many staff members at all grade levels will be moving buildings this summer between the new high school, converting the existing one to a middle school and closing an elementary school.
High school staff is moving from the existing high school to the new one
Middle school staff is moving to the existing high school
Roosevelt Elementary School is closing and moving to Horace Mann Middle School, which will become an elementary school
Alliance Charter School — currently located in Roosevelt — is moving to Wilson Elementary School
Because of all the shuffling, Strick said the district will be hiring a moving company.
If you want to see the progression of the project, here's where things were at in October and last May.
Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Neenah High School construction work progressing in Fox Crossing
