It's official: Appleton will name its new elementary school Sandy Slope

AnnMarie Hilton, Appleton Post-Crescent
·2 min read

APPLETON – It's official: There will be a new Sandy Slope Elementary School.

At a meeting Monday night, the Appleton school board approved the name for the soon-to-be built elementary school in the northeast part of the city with a unanimous vote. Board member Nick Ross was not at the meeting.

There was minimal discussion from the board before the vote, but the topic had already been discussed at multiple prior meetings.

When Superintendent Greg Hartjes initiated the conversation about naming the school in May, he explained that a name would be helpful in picking colors and other design details. Before Monday's vote, Board president Kay Eggert mentioned a recent Post-Crescent article that shared details of tan and gold colors being used in the original Sandy Slope School as an idea for the design team of the new school to consider.

The original school sat at the corner of Ballard Road and Edgewood Drive, next to Appleton North High School.

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The name comes from the purchase agreement between the Appleton Area School District and the Van Handel family, who previously owned the property. There was a clause written into the contract requesting any future elementary schools constructed on the site be named Sandy Slope.

One of the sellers, Richard Van Handel, put that item in the purchase agreement because he attended Sandy Slope, according to information provided by the district.

There was a question as to whether the district would have to follow through with the name since district policy states naming a school is the board’s responsibility. However, legal counsel said there was a legal obligation to use the name Sandy Slope, Hartjes said at a previous board meeting.

No other names were publicly discussed or considered at board meetings.

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Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.

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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton school district will name new school Sandy Slope Elementary