Oshkosh school board approves placing $197.8 million facilities referendum on April ballot after airport‑zoning conflict

The Oshkosh Area School District board voted Jan. 8 to place a $197,800,000 general obligation bond question on the April 1, 2025 ballot after administrators said a 2023 Winnebago County airport‑zoning change prevents expansion of large‑gathering buildings at the South Park Middle School site.

Superintendent Dr. Davis told the board the district learned this fall and in December that South Park falls within an airport approach/departure zone created by the county’s updated airport zoning code. "We do not have a copy of that zoning letter, and that is on us," Dr. Davis said, adding the district will change its internal notice and review procedures to prevent a repeat.

The proposal the board approved to send to voters keeps the overall phase‑two facilities package largely intact but shifts the planned new middle school from the South Park site to the Shapiro site and repurposes Perry Tipler Middle School to host a consolidated 4K center and recreation department spaces. Board members and district planners cited safety, timing and cost as the core reasons for the shift.

Why it matters: District staff said the county airport rule identifies areas where new construction that would draw large gatherings—schools, hospitals and similar uses—is not allowed because of aircraft approach and departure paths. District officials and their architects concluded moving the middle‑school project outside that zone…