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Oshkosh board reviews open‑enrollment seat caps, staff recommends criteria; district reports net open‑enrollment outflow
Summary
District staff presented proposed enrollment caps and special‑education capacity for the 2025 open‑enrollment window, and reported 182 students open‑enrolled into the district versus 483 open‑enrolled out for 2024–25; the board asked staff to return exit‑survey results when it votes next meeting.
District staff presented recommended criteria Jan. 8 for determining available seats for nonresident open‑enrollment applicants and outlined regular‑education class caps and the district’s approach for special‑education placements.
As proposed in the staff report, classroom caps for regular education were 24 students for 4K–grade 3 and 27 students for grades 4–5. The staff package holds two seats per classroom for incoming resident students when determining available nonresident seats. The district calculates special‑education availability by specific service types and case‑management capacity; most special‑education service areas remain closed for new open‑enrollment except for some cross‑categorical openings at the middle‑ and high‑school levels.
Staff reported that in the 2024–25 school year 182 students open‑enrolled into the district while 483 students open‑enrolled out, producing a net open‑enrollment outflow. Board members asked for a summary of exit‑survey responses; staff said exit surveys have been sent to families who withdrew and that administration will compile and present findings at the board’s next meeting to inform the final vote on open‑enrollment seats.
Board discussion focused on clarifying what "closed" means for special‑education service categories, staffing and interpreter availability for deaf and hard‑of‑hearing students, and the district’s intent to be transparent about open‑enrollment availability. When a board member asked whether schools are closed to entrants, staff said the term "closed" refers to current capacity at a given service type or grade and not to a district‑wide ban on accepting applications: "None of the schools are closed," staff said, explaining the caps are applied at classroom and service‑level granularity.
Ending: Staff will return exit‑survey results and final open‑enrollment criteria for board approval at the next meeting, and the district reminded the public the statutory open‑enrollment application window opens in early February.
