The Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education on Wednesday approved a revised budget-reduction plan intended to close a multi-million-dollar shortfall, voting 4–3 to adopt the package after extended public comment and debate.

Administrators told the board they had reduced the district's projected deficit from $6.0 million to about $5.5 million by removing certain administrator market adjustments and identifying roughly $4.7 million in concrete reductions, with additional savings expected from secondary scheduling changes to reach the full target. The package retained some programs previously proposed for elimination, including the mental-strength teacher at Oshkosh West, while proposing other cost savings such as eliminating the director of technology position and restoring a security-and-communications specialist, reducing peer coaches from 1.9 to 1.0 FTE, and consolidating elementary leadership following school consolidations.

Board members and staff emphasized the role of scheduling and attrition in meeting secondary staffing targets. Administration said principals ran models showing how modest increases in class sizes and adjustments to course sections could yield FTE savings; they projected that, barring unexpected enrollment increases, the models could produce the necessary staffing reductions through nonreplacement and scheduling changes.

Public commenters urged restraint and caution. Several parents, teachers and staff warned that cutting licensed library/media specialists would reduce consistent instruction in media literacy, digital citizenship and Chromebook management. Administrators estimated the three contested media-related reductions would total roughly $340,000 if implemented together; they also said duties would be redistributed among tech integrators, media assistants and teachers if cuts proceed.

The vote followed an unsuccessful amendment that would have added language reducing Superintendent Ryan Davis’s compensation as a budget measure; that amendment failed on a roll call. Supporters of the adopted plan said difficult choices were necessary to avoid worsening the district's structural deficit; opponents cautioned that the approach risked uneven impacts across schools and stressed a need for clearer guardrails on implementation and more transparent follow-up work.

The board directed administration to continue the secondary scheduling and staffing process and said it expects a more detailed budget number and staffing report in April as course selections and enrollment solidify. The board also discussed follow-up procedures for impacted staff and plans to reallocate responsibilities where positions are reduced.

The resolution passed 4–3 on a roll call vote.