The Neck River Elementary School construction project will hit a milestone this week as the final steel beams are prepared for installation. Before that, residents are invited to sign their names to the final pieces of support structure.

Students and their families, as well as residents, are invited to sign the beams at Jeffrey Elementary School, 331 Copse Road, on Thursday, Aug. 15, and Friday, Aug. 16, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The beams will be installed at Neck River Elementary on Mungertown Road at a later date.

The BOE approved the naming of Neck River Elementary School at a special meeting on Feb. 27, after reviewing a list of three potential names forwarded to the board by the Ad-Hoc New Elementary School Naming Commitee. Those three names, however, had been part of a larger 15-name list presented for public feedback in December 2023. According to a press release from Madison Public Schools (MPS), the committee had received possible names from more than 150 people during a month-long suggestion period.

Residents approved the $61.15 million pre-K-5 elementary school as part of the larger Madison Schools Renewal Plan at a February 2022 referendum. The plan includes the construction of the new school, transforming Brown Intermediate School into a K-5 school, and renovations at Polson Middle School, including its air quality and HVAC systems. Jefferson and Ryerson elementary schools will close at the conclusion of the project, reducing the district's schools to four buildings.

Town and state officials gathered on April 19 for an official groundbreaking ceremony for Madison's newest school, and construction is expected to take 15 months. According to a publicly available timeline, officials anticipate Neck River will open for the start of the 2025-'26 school year.