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Oshkosh district outlines $98.6 million April referendum as airport overlay raises questions about South Park plan
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Davis presented a draft referendum on Dec. 18 asking voters in April 2025 to approve $98,600,000 in borrowing for district construction, renovations and site work — including a proposed new South Park Middle School — but board members and a nearby resident raised safety and zoning questions after Winnebago Countyzoning changes that list schools in an airport overlay could block rebuilding at South Park.
Superintendent Dr. Davis presented a draft referendum on Dec. 18 asking voters in April 2025 to approve $98,600,000 in borrowing for district construction, renovations and site work — including a proposed new South Park Middle School — but board members and a nearby resident raised safety and zoning questions after county airport overlay rules were cited as a potential obstacle.
The draft resolutions laid out three legal steps: approval of the borrowing scope, approval to take the question to the public via referendum and proposed ballot language. "And so the refined scope was at a hundred $98,600,000 and so that would also define what that is out what's outlined in that referendum," Superintendent Dr. Davis said while presenting the draft scope and attachments to the board.
The Facilities and Finance Committee earlier noted the district is collaborating with the City of Oshkosh and the Town of Algoma on a BRIC grant application that could fund up to 80% of building updates, and identified a new South Park Middle School as a project that could serve as community sheltering during emergencies. Minutes of that committee discussion were summarized during the meeting.
Board members expressed concern that a 2023 update to Winnebago County's Chapter 24 zoning code established an airport safety overlay (referred to in discussion as an "Air 2" overlay) that explicitly lists schools among land uses subject to restrictions. "Are we sacrificing safety here?" asked Doctor Hess, pointing to the overlay and the district's proposal to expand South Park from roughly 350 students to what she said would be about 670, an increase of approximately 320 students.
Dr. Davis told the board he has met with city and county officials and planned additional meetings with legal counsel "in the next day or two" to clarify whether a variance, ordinance change or other action would be required and which governing body would enforce the overlay. "So before we designate going to either board, there's... different perspectives on kinda what the paths are," he said.
Resident David McKinney, who said he received a county notice and attended a county meeting on the zoning overlay in 2023, urged caution. "I can't believe that there's going to be a question on a referendum, and we have zoning issues, big zoning issues going on where the county is actually coming out and saying, we don't want these high density things anywhere near the runway," McKinney told the board during public comment.
Board members repeatedly said the zoning questions and the legal path forward must be clarified before any final decision to include South Park in the referendum is made. Several members asked for clearer ballot language and called for legal counsel to provide plain-language bullet points to accompany the draft question so voters could understand what each pledged dollar would cover.
No formal board vote to place the referendum on the April ballot occurred during the meeting. Instead, the board directed Dr. Davis to continue meetings with county and city officials and with legal counsel and to report back with a clearer path forward and recommended language. Facilities and Finance committee materials presented at the meeting identified South Park and other items in the draft scope and noted the BRIC grant timeline aligned with phase two planning.
Board members also raised questions about recent district property purchases near South Park and asked administration to pause and clarify the acquisition strategy while zoning questions remain unresolved.
Next steps: Dr. Davis said he would seek clarity from county and city staff and counsel within days and bring an updated recommendation to the board; board members requested clearer ballot wording and a breakdown of the draft scope in bullet form for public use.
Votes at the meeting that were recorded and adopted unrelated to the referendum included approval of the consent agenda and approval of the district's positions on Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) delegate resolutions (see Actions section).
