A 600-student elementary school means that there can be four classes at each grade level (ex. four kindergarten classes, four first-grade classes, etc). This structure offers the following key benefits:

• Student Placement: Staff have flexibility to group students, creating learning environments that adapt to individual student needs and learning styles
• Teacher Collaboration: Four classes per grade level means teachers and staff can engage in ongoing professional development and collaborative teaching strategies
• Full-Time Support: The school size enables dedicated full-time staff for counseling, student services, and specials like physical education, music, and art. This means support professionals are always in the building, available to help and support students whenever needs arise, rather than splitting time between multiple schools

From a structural perspective, classrooms are grouped by grade, creating a small school feeling.  The district will continue to maintain class size consistency by following our district-wide staffing ratio of 1:24 in grades K-3 and 1:27 in grades 4-12. This approach ensures students experience a personalized, supportive learning environment focused on individual growth and collaborative learning.

A 600-student elementary school means that there can be four classes at each grade level (ex. four kindergarten classes, four first-grade classes, etc). This structure offers the following key benefits:

• Student Placement: Staff have flexibility to group students, creating learning environments that adapt to individual student needs and learning styles
• Teacher Collaboration: Four classes per grade level means teachers and staff can engage in ongoing professional development and collaborative teaching strategies
• Full-Time Support: The school size enables dedicated full-time staff for counseling, student services, and specials like physical education, music, and art. This means support professionals are always in the building, available to help and support students whenever needs arise, rather than splitting time between multiple schools

From a structural perspective, classrooms are grouped by grade, creating a small school feeling.  The district will continue to maintain class size consistency by following our district-wide staffing ratio of 1:24 in grades K-3 and 1:27 in grades 4-12. This approach ensures students experience a personalized, supportive learning environment focused on individual growth and collaborative learning.

No, the new middle school is not a mega school. With a planned capacity of 680 students, it will be smaller than several existing middle schools in our area, including our newest middle school - Vel Phillips, which has a current enrollment of 811 students, and Neenah Middle School, which has a current enrollment of 1,941 students. Many local middle schools are larger than our proposed middle school, as detailed in the graph below. The new middle school is designed to provide an optimal learning environment for students while maintaining operational efficiency and meeting our community's needs.

After a year-long community engagement process, the Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education has authorized a facilities referendum, which will appear on the ballot on April 1. This referendum seeks voter approval for a $197.8 million project designed to address Phase 2 of the district's four-phase facilities consolidation plan. This plan is community-developed and board-approved. 

If approved, the referendum will allow the district to:

• Build a new consolidated middle school at the Shapiro site (close South Park and Perry Tipler, reducing from three to two westside middle schools)
• Additions and renovations at Franklin, Carl Traeger and Oakwood Elementary Schools (closing Roosevelt and Shapiro, reducing from seven to five westside elementary schools)
• Convert Perry Tipler Middle School into a pre-kindergarten center and recreation department
• Add an auditorium at Oshkosh North High School 
• Install air conditioning at Emmeline Cook, Lakeside, and Read Elementary Schools

•  
• Air Conditioning Addition: We are proposing to install air conditioning at Emmeline Cook, Lakeside, and Read elementary schools in direct response to community input
   
• Airport Zoning Impacts South Park Site: The South Park Middle School site is in an airport runway and departure zone and considered unsafe for an expansion. Therefore, we are proposing: 
  • A new middle school (consolidating South Park and Perry Tipler) will be built at the Shapiro STEM Academy site instead of South Park. 
  • The pre-kindergarten center will move to Perry Tipler Middle School instead of Shapiro. 
  • Alternative programs will remain at their current leased sites rather than moving to Tipler. 
  • The Recreation Department will still move to Tipler as originally planned.
     

Lower Cost: After adjusting project locations as detailed above, the cost of the referendum was able to be reduced by $800,000.

*We acknowledge that we made a mistake. We missed the airport zoning update in October 2023. This was significant and in response we have made internal process improvements and will complete a pre-submittal project review with the City moving forward. See our Airport Zoning (South Park Site) portion of this FAQ below for more information. 

• Eliminates safety concern of South Park Middle School being in airport landing and departure zone
• Maintains our westside school consolidation goals
• Provides modern learning spaces and improved services for our students
• Eliminates an additional building in the district as we would seek to sell South Park (and the five residential properties that were previously purchased)
• Provides a more central location for the pre-k center (Tipler vs Shapiro)
• Is $800,000 less
• Maintains $0 tax increase to the debt levy

Our facilities work began in 2017, guided by community input and unwavering school board commitment to student needs. While this has been the anticipated timeline for Phase 2, an April 2025 referendum is now also needed to urgently address the safety concerns of students at South Park Middle School. 

After April 2025, the next opportunity to go to referendum is in April 2026 as there is no Fall 2025 election cycle. 

Delaying Phase 2 improvements would also cost our community significantly more in the long run. For example:

• If we postpone addressing the proposed projects by just four years, we project the construction costs would increase by at least $42 million (assuming a 5% annual inflation rate).
• Meanwhile, our facility needs would remain unaddressed, potentially leading to more costly repairs.

Lastly, due to the prepayment of previous debt and strong fiscal management these improvements can be made with a $0 increase to the school debt levy.

If the April 2025 Referendum is approved by Voters:

• A new consolidated middle school will be built at the Shapiro site (closing South Park and Perry Tipler, reducing from three to two westside middle schools).
• Carl Traeger, Franklin, and Oakwood Elementary schools will be expanded and renovated (closing Roosevelt and Shapiro, reducing from seven to five westside elementary schools).
• Perry Tipler Middle School will be converted into a pre-kindergarten center and recreation department.
• A new auditorium addition will be built at Oshkosh North High School.
• Air conditioning will be installed at Emmeline Cook, Lakeside, and Read Elementary schools.
• The district will close/seek to sell:
  • South Park Middle School and five adjacent lots
  • Roosevelt Elementary School
  • Downtown recreation center building
• Leases for non-district locations for pre-kindergarten will be eliminated.

RESOURCE: April 2025 Referendum at a Glace (1-pager) - What if it passes? What if it fails?

If voters do not support the referendum on April 1, the OASD will review the overall process and seek feedback to understand why it did not pass. After review, a process and schedule will be developed to respond and adjust the planning accordingly.

Regardless of the outcome of an April 2025 referendum, the OASD plans to close Shapiro STEM Academy due to low enrollment.

If an April 2025 referendum is unsuccessful, the next opportunity to go to referendum will be April 2026.

More specifically, if the April 2025 Referendum is Not Approved by Voters:

• South Park Middle School students will remain in a 120-year-old building located within a restricted flight zone.
  • The cost to repair South Park Middle School was estimated at $7.8M in May of 2020, we expect this number to be higher with today’s cost of construction. This would not include any improvements to learning spaces or ADA access.
  • Virtual learning would be required for South Park students during an emergency repair due to insufficient room for students at Carl Traeger and Perry Tipler.
• Shapiro STEM Academy (Elementary) will still close after the 2025-2026 school year due to low enrollment in the area. Students will be consolidated into the remaining westside elementary schools for the 2026-2027 school year.
• The facilities improvements will not be made.
• Additional annual operational savings will not be captured through consolidation.
• The OASD will review the overall process and seek feedback to understand why it did not pass. After review, a process and schedule will be developed to respond and adjust the planning accordingly. The next opportunity to go to referendum is April 2026.
• Construction costs are projected to increase 5% per year.
   

RESOURCE: April 2025 Referendum at a Glace (1-pager) - What if it passes? What if it fails?

The district is holding 10 community information sessions where you can learn about the referendum and get your questions answered. All session details are available at oshkosh.k12.wi.us/referendum-2025-information-sessions. We encourage all community members to participate in these sessions to make an informed decision about the future of our schools.

Additionally, district leaders are regularly presenting to community organizations and groups. If you would like to schedule a presentation with your group, please email referendum@oshkosh.k12.wi.us.

The total cost of the referendum projects is $197.8 million if approved by voters on April 1, 2025. The estimated cost breakdown associated with the major project components is as follows:

• $88M - New middle school at Shapiro site
• $9.7M - Pre-K Center and Recreation Department at Tipler site
• $5.4M - Expand and renovate Carl Traeger
• $31.1M - Expand and renovate Franklin Elementary
• $35.7M - Expand and renovate Oakwood Elementary
• $22.1M - Build an auditorium at Oshkosh North
• $5.8M - Add air conditioning (AC) at Emmeline Cook, Lakeside, and Read Elementary Schools

To view more detailed information about the proposed projects, please visit our PROJECT DETAILS page.

The debt levy rate is determined through an annual decision-making process by the Oshkosh Area School District Board of Education. While the debt levy is one component of school funding, changes to this levy are evaluated and determined each year by the Board as part of their fiscal responsibilities to the district and community.

If approved by voters the $197.8 referendum will have a $0 increase to the school debt levy due to paying off debt from previous projects. The debt levy will remain at $21.5M. 

We understand and take seriously concerns about fiscal responsibility, especially during challenging economic times. Recognizing that many taxpayers saw an increase in their overall tax bills due to recent city reassessments, we specifically prioritized ensuring that the school district portion of tax bills not only avoided an increase but actually decreased by 5% - a conscious effort to help offset the impact of reassessments on our community. Our decision to move forward now is based on careful financial planning and several critical factors:

• Long-term Financial Planning: The district has been proactive and intentional in planning its finances to ensure that investing in our schools remains manageable for both current and future generations. This isn't a sudden decision – it's part of a community-developed, board-approved four-phase facilities plan developed in 2019.
• The Cost of Waiting: Delaying these necessary improvements would actually cost our community significantly more in the long run. For example:
  • If we postpone addressing the proposed projects by just four years, we project the construction costs would increase by at least $42 million (assuming a 5% annual construction inflation rate).
  • Meanwhile, our facility needs would remain unaddressed, potentially leading to more costly repairs.
• Demonstrated Fiscal Responsibility: We've taken steps to manage the tax impact:
  • The school board recently approved a 5.05% decrease in the overall school tax levy from 2023-24 to 2024-25. The total school tax levy is expected to go from $69,452,783 down to $65,943,198. A decrease of $3,509,585.
  • We've structured the financing for Phase 2 specifically so it will not result in a tax increase above the current levy.
• Breaking the Cycle: For many years, our community did not have a plan for proactively addressing the life cycles of district buildings. Recent school boards have worked to shift this approach, recognizing that postponing necessary improvements or construction ultimately costs taxpayers more while compromising educational quality.

By moving forward now, we can address our pressing facility needs while maintaining fiscal responsibility and managing long-term costs for our community.

The district has saved $2,200,000 in interest the past two years from pre-paying Fund 39 debt. The district has also received $4,800,000 in additional state aid, which reduces local taxes, by pre-paying this debt. Pre-referendum projections had the district paying $55,874,096 for interest on Phase 1. The district was able to reduce the total interest owed to $15,628,600 by pre-paying debt and the district issuing short-term notes instead of long-term bonds.

Preliminary estimated building closings:

• Shapiro STEM Academy (elementary) - Summer 2026 
• Roosevelt Elementary School - Summer 2027
• Perry Tipler Middle School - Summer 2028

Preliminary estimated completion dates 

• Carl Traeger Elementary School Addition - August of 2026*
• Franklin Elementary School Addition/Renovation - August of 2027*
• Oakwood Elementary School Addition/Renovation - August of 2027*
• Oshkosh North Auditorium Addition/Renovation - August of 2027*
• New Middle School at Shapiro Site - August of 2028* 
• Pre-Kindergarten Center and Recreation Department at Perry Tipler Site - August 2029*

*Schedules to be updated as final project directions/scope are determined.

See OASD Phase 2 Design and Construction Schedule (January 2025).

For Franklin and Oakwood, the construction will initially focus on the new additions. When the new construction areas are complete, students and staff will move into their new spaces to allow for some renovation to occur during the school year and the remaining renovation work to occur during the summer months.  When final construction is complete students and staff from the closing schools will be moved into the completed project.

For Carl Traeger Elementary, the construction for the new addition will occur while school is in session with completion of renovated areas during the summer months. When the new construction area is complete, the students and staff will move into the spaces. The timing of moving students and staff from the closing buildings may be delayed to correspond with the completion of Franklin and Oakwood.

For the new middle school on the Shapiro site, the new building construction will occur while students and staff continue to occupy the existing South Park and Perry Tipler buildings.  When the new construction is complete, students and staff will move into the new middle school building. Students and staff from Perry Tipler will be relocated upon completion of the project. Approximately 75% of Perry Tipler students will move to the new middle school and 25% will move to Carl Traeger Middle School.

Detailed plans will be developed following a successful referendum.

No, the project schedules are structured to allow staff and students to remain in traditional in-person school at their current building.

During construction students and staff will continue their daily activities within their school building, with class sizes remaining unchanged. District and school leaders will develop a careful relocation strategy that minimizes disruption by striving to limit each class to just one move during the construction period. Students and staff will be relocated to another space within their existing building. 

During construction, site logistics — specifically navigating pick-up/drop-off — will be one of the largest complexities for our students and families. In addition, schools receiving heavy renovation will have louder construction activity, however, our priority will be to limit disruption to students’ learning and provide an academic environment.

The process will follow a similar planning approach used during the construction of Vel Phillips Middle School and Menominee Elementary School. We will review and establish boundaries closer to the opening date to ensure they reflect real-time enrollment trends and consider the district as a whole. Transportation decisions will also be made once the boundaries are finalized.

Yes. Since December 18, the OASD planning team and Bray Architects thoroughly evaluated alternative options. They completed due diligence on the Shapiro site, including reviews of zoning requirements, known documented wetland identification and soil conditions, existing storm and sanitary conditions, setback and easements, etc. Detailed soil boring and land surveys are normally conducted after referendum passage (same as the process used for 2020 projects).

The revised plan prioritizes student safety.

No. In response to community concerns, we conducted comprehensive environmental testing of the Shapiro site in February 2025. These tests detected no methane, confirming the site is safe for development. This information is available in the following Key Facts document: 

OASD and City of Oshkosh - Fact Sheet for Shapiro Site Methane Testing February 2025

First, we understand the frustration around the $1.2M spent on properties near South Park Middle School, especially now that zoning changes mean we can no longer use the site. Our goal was to be proactive and responsible, and ultimately avoid designing a school around an existing residential property as we needed to do with Vel Phillips Middle School. 

The properties were purchased to provide South Park Middle School students with additional green space - currently and in planning for the school to be expanded or rebuilt as part of our consolidation plans. Since our four-phase facilities consolidation plan was developed by a community committee in 2019 and approved by the school board in 2020 we have been focused on following this plan with continued taxpayer support. Our proactive facilities planning involves purchasing properties when they become available through voluntary sales at market rates. This approach avoids using eminent domain, which would be necessary if purchases were delayed until after referendum passage.

While we recognize the financial investment now appears unnecessary due to zoning restrictions, we are committed to recovering costs by selling the purchased properties and seeking to sell the South Park building.

The district will work with local developers, county administrators and city administrators to sell them to support the housing needs in Oshkosh.   

Our aging school buildings - along with declining birth rates - require strategic consolidation to ensure improved student safety and services. By reducing from 20 to 15 schools, we can maximize staffing efficiency, improve student services, and create more modern, robust learning environments. This consolidation allows us to optimize resource allocation, update infrastructure, and ensure our facilities truly serve our current student population's educational needs.

Yes, Shapiro Elementary will close after the 2025-2026 school year due to low enrollment, regardless of the referendum's outcome. Currently, the school has only 194* students  (recorded as of January 2025 and reported to DPI as required for official pupil count). Of these students, only 130 are from the local neighborhood, with 64 students attending the school from outside the Shapiro’s attendance area.

Additionally, enrollment is projected to decline further to 174 in 2025-2026. Given Shapiro’s low enrollment, students will be reassigned into existing westside elementary schools that have available space for the 2026-2027 school year. 

To best serve students and gain more efficient use of educational resources, the district is seeking to reduce the number of buildings it is operating. The district’s community-developed, board approved long-range facilities consolidation plan aims to reduce the district from 20 schools to 15 schools. This reduction will allow the district to ensure that full-time staff and services are available to all students. As explained in a previous FAQ, due to Shapiro’s low enrollment, the district is able to distribute students currently attending Shapiro into existing elementary schools.

Drawing from our experiences with the Vel Phillips consolidation during Phase 1 and the subsequent opening of Menominee Elementary, we've identified key areas for improvement in Phase 2 of our four-phase facilities consolidation plan:

1. Keeping Principals in Buildings: Prioritize keeping principals in their current buildings - dedicated to one building only - until they close. This approach maintains consistent leadership and support for students and staff throughout the transition period.
2. Enhanced Professional Development: Implement more purposeful and comprehensive professional development programs in the lead-up to consolidation. These programs will focus on team building, teaching strategies, cultural integration, and addressing the unique challenges of merging school communities. Merging school cultures will need to be explicit and intentional. 
3. Leadership Matters: Staff focus groups from Menominee Elementary and Vel Phillips Middle School indicated that principals need to be “uniters” and very mindful of the work needed to merge school communities, including students and families.

The transition at Menominee Elementary showed improvements. We're committed to continuous improvement to better support our school communities through these transitions. Communication and engagement of all stakeholders will continue to be critical to our success. 

No. The OASD maintains consistent class size targets regardless of overall school building size. Our class size goals are as follows:

• Grades K-3: 24 students per 1 instructor
• Grades 4-12: 27 students per 1 instructor

These targets remain the same whether a school is considered “large or small.” The move towards larger, 4-track elementary schools is actually designed to help us better maintain these class size goals. Here's why:

1. Optimized Services: 4-track elementary schools allow us to optimize services for students. With more students in one location, we can more efficiently allocate resources and specialized staff.
2. Operational Efficiencies: 4-track elementary schools help us achieve operational efficiencies, which can free up resources to maintain appropriate staffing levels for our target class sizes.
3. Consistent Class Sizes: 4-track elementary schools give us more flexibility in class formation. This allows us to better maintain consistent class sizes from building to building across the district.

No, the new middle school is not a mega school. With a planned capacity of 680 students, it will be smaller than several existing middle schools in our area, including our newest middle school - Vel Phillips, which has a current enrollment of 811 students, and Neenah Middle School, which has a current enrollment of 1,941 students. Many local middle schools are larger than our proposed middle school, as detailed in the graph below. The new middle school is designed to provide an optimal learning environment for students while maintaining operational efficiency and meeting our community's needs.

A 600-student elementary school means that there can be four classes at each grade level (ex. four kindergarten classes, four first-grade classes, etc). This structure offers the following key benefits:

• Student Placement: Staff have flexibility to group students, creating learning environments that adapt to individual student needs and learning styles
• Teacher Collaboration: Four classes per grade level means teachers and staff can engage in ongoing professional development and collaborative teaching strategies
• Full-Time Support: The school size enables dedicated full-time staff for counseling, student services, and specials like physical education, music, and art. This means support professionals are always in the building, available to help and support students whenever needs arise, rather than splitting time between multiple schools

From a structural perspective, classrooms are grouped by grade, creating a small school feeling.  The district will continue to maintain class size consistency by following our district-wide staffing ratio of 1:24 in grades K-3 and 1:27 in grades 4-12. This approach ensures students experience a personalized, supportive learning environment focused on individual growth and collaborative learning.

Winnebago County airport zoning restrictions enacted in 2023 prevent schools from being constructed or expanded in airport runways and departure zones. Due to South Park's location in these zones, the building cannot be expanded or rebuilt at its current site.

A series of communication gaps led to missing the County rezoning implications. In October 2022, a zoning notice was mailed to the district’s PO Box by the City, however no copy is on file and no individuals recall the notice as it was over two years ago. When the County held a public meeting in January 2023, individual notices were not sent to property owners and no district representatives attended the meeting. In September 2024, a South Park neighbor questioned the zoning impact for the district. The OASD instructed Bray Architects to evaluate the concern with the City and the former city zoning administrator did not identify any restrictions. The district has now implemented new procedures including digital scanning of notices, distribution to key staff, and direct coordination with both County and City zoning administrators to prevent future oversights. 

For transparency, the complete timeline of the situation is available in this Timeline and Summary document. This Letter to Our Community 01.03.25 is also available. 

The district is focused on solutions and moving forward.

While the district could request a variance from the county, there is no guarantee that such a request would be approved, and the timeline for the approval process is unknown. More critically, Chapter 24 of the Wittman Regional Airport Zoning Code, section 24.5-3 explicitly states that places of assembly are not allowed in this zone. Although the existing building is permitted to remain under section 24.1-6, constructing a new building or even expanding the existing building is prohibited.

Shapiro was selected for the new Middle School after a comprehensive evaluation of available sites east of I-41. The district carefully considered multiple locations in light of the airport zoning restrictions impacting the South Park site.

Key Reasons for Selecting the Shapiro Site:

• Size: Offers 10.31 acres, which is 2.79 acres larger than the existing South Park site (7.52 acres)
• Location: Situated in the same neighborhood, minimizing disruption to families
• Zoning: Outside of Winnebago County airport zoning restrictions, ensuring a safe site for students and staff
• Accessibility: Provides good street access to adjacent streets and provides a buffer from the traffic on Highway 44 and South Park Avenue
• Cost: Reduced the referendum cost by approximately $800,000

Compared to Alternatives:

• South Park Site: Prohibited from new school construction or expansion due to airport zoning (Air-2 Zoning restrictions)
• Tipler Site: Too small at 6.29 acres to accommodate the consolidated middle school and necessary site features (NOTE: The parcel to the west of Tipler is owned by the City of Oshkosh and serves as a flood basin for the surrounding area during large rain events.)
   

Renovating Shapiro Elementary into a middle school would have significant and cost-prohibitive challenges due to numerous limitations:

• The existing open-concept design is incompatible with the structured learning spaces required for middle school education.
• Current infrastructure lacks support for critical learning spaces needed in a middle school, including science labs and technology and engineering classrooms.
• The proposed new middle school is built efficiently with a majority of the building having two floors. The existing Shapiro single story structure is unable to be expanded vertically, so keeping the existing structure would be inefficient from an overall site layout.
• Significant architectural modifications would be needed to introduce adequate natural lighting, including punching windows into existing precast panels.
• Extensive modifications would be required to core systems, including electrical, mechanical, and technological infrastructure, to meet modern middle school educational standards.
• The existing gym is a single station gym, while the new middle school plan includes a three-station gym, providing more athletic space, especially on the west side.

By building a new facility, the district can create a purpose-built middle school that provides the most effective and modern learning environment for students.

Tipler is designed to hold 5 sections per grade level which is 420 students. Combined, South Park and Tipler would have a total enrollment of 712 students (350 from South Park and 362 from Tipler), which exceeds the design. Additionally, the Tipler site is too small at 6.29 acres to be expanded in order to accommodate the consolidated South Park and Tipler school communities. Specifically, the parcel to the west of Tipler is owned by the City of Oshkosh and serves as a flood basin for the surrounding area during large rain events, further limiting any potential expansion possibilities.

In comparison, the Shapiro site is 10.31 acres. 

The proposed new consolidated westside middle school on the Shapiro site would be 210,000 square feet. In comparison:

• South Park Middle School is 130,600 square feet
• Perry Tipler Middle School is 88,100 square feet

The preliminary site plan for the new middle school includes 228 parking stalls, with 151 parking spots located on the north side of the site. While this initial plan meets the current design requirements, the district will conduct a comprehensive Traffic Impact Analysis if the referendum passes. This analysis will verify the parking quantity needed for both daily school operations and special events. Following the analysis, the City of Oshkosh will review the parking plan to ensure compliance with local ordinances and confirm that the number of parking spots adequately serves the school's needs.

Yes, the Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) offers a free 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) program for all children who turn 4 by September 1st of the upcoming school year. This half-day program is available at nine locations throughout Oshkosh for the 2024-2025 school year:

• Carl Traeger Elementary
• Davis Child Care Center
• Head Start - Peace Location
• Head Start - Wilcox Location
• Shapiro STEM Academy
• Oakwood Elementary
• Peace Preschool
• Downtown YMCA
• 20th Avenue YMCA

Families can choose between morning or afternoon sessions. Our 4K program uses play-based learning to build the foundational skills children need for success in kindergarten. To make the program accessible to all families, there is no tuition cost. Additionally, OASD provides special education services starting at age three for children who qualify. 

4K educational needs are significantly different from K-5. These differences include specialized spaces, appropriate layouts, and the ability to provide focused early learning services that may not be as feasible in a shared elementary school setting.

District leaders are actively engaging with community partners to explore comprehensive solutions for providing wrap-around care before and after 4K half-day programs, ensuring we can effectively support both families' needs and our partner childcare centers. These ongoing conversations aim to create a seamless system that strengthens both family access to care and the sustainability of our childcare partnerships.

Busing to and from 4K will continue to be provided.

As part of our planning process, district leaders have analyzed bus routes for the PreK Center in collaboration with Kobussen. A formal study will be conducted after a successful referendum to finalize planning. Our initial planning analysis confirmed:

• Tipler is a strategically located, central site for our school district. Currently, many 4K students are already bused from the North side of Oshkosh to locations like the 20th avenue Y and Carl Traeger Elementary.
• The current 4K transportation situation is challenging due to existing site locations. Currently, bus rides are at most 50-60 minutes, with the majority of rides being much shorter. In the proposed new routing model, we believe that with the new routes, PreK students will be able to reach the Tipler site in the same amount of time or less than their current transportation routes.
• Currently, 58% of 4K students are bused. We anticipate a slight increase to 60-62% of 4K students will ride the bus in the new consolidated model.
• This transportation change will be financially offset by approximately $555,000 in savings from eliminating current 4K contracts with partner sites. 

The district currently has a single performance venue, Kimball Auditorium at Oshkosh West. This creates scheduling challenges, as demonstrated by the fact that over 450 events were hosted at Kimball during the past year. The single auditorium location particularly impacts Northside elementary schools, which must travel to the West side of town for their music concerts and performances.

The current situation means that holiday concerts for all OASD elementary schools begin as early as November and continue through January. This also creates transportation challenges for Northside families who want to support their children's performances. 

School-wide assemblies take place in the school's fieldhouse. The auditorium is meant as a performance space and cannot hold North’s entire student and staff population at one time. The 800 seat auditorium provides a modern performance space that will allow North to host performances and expand the music performance offerings available to students.

There are 2,377 students enrolled in music programs across Northside schools, with 255 currently at Oshkosh North High School, increasing to 315 for the 2025-26 school year.

The space is too small, does not have a proper sound system, lacks dressing rooms, and does not have an orchestra pit, fly system, or scene shop. Large equipment and wheelchair users must enter through the art department.

While renovations could improve some aspects, the space is fundamentally too small and lacks essential infrastructure. A dedicated Northside auditorium would provide a long-term solution for the entire community.

The North musical is performed at The Grand Opera House, where students have only seven days to rehearse before the actual performances. This limited rehearsal time makes it difficult to fully prepare in the space. Transportation to and from The Grand can also be a challenge for some students. Additionally, since North does not have an on-site auditorium with storage space, set pieces, costumes, and props must be stored offsite, requiring monthly rental fees. The high cost of renting The Grand also reduces the profit made from ticket sales, limiting funds that could be reinvested into the program.

No, North does not have a dedicated scene shop for building set pieces, which adds additional challenges and costs to the production process.

Building a single consolidated high school is not feasible for our community. Currently, Oshkosh North has an enrollment of 1,260 students and Oshkosh West has 1,670 students. Combining these populations would create a school of nearly 3,000 students, making it the largest high school in Wisconsin. A high school this size would present numerous operational and educational challenges. Our current two-school model allows us to maintain more manageable school sizes that better serve our students and community.

Much of the existing Oakwood campus would be renovated in this potential solution. Specific to the open concept area, this area of the building would be fully renovated by removing the temporary/adjustable walls and either utilizing this space as a Cafeteria, or if classrooms are placed in this area, this area would be outfitted with proper walls and doors to create 21st century learning environments.

Our proposed solution for Oakwood Elementary combines strategic renovation with new construction to create an efficient, cost-effective facility that will serve 600 students. Here's why this approach makes sense:

Current Building Status:

• Oakwood was built in 1953 with additions in 1960, 1968, 1993, and 2023
• The existing structure is well-constructed and can effectively meet future needs
• The current building's structure cannot support adding a second floor

Proposed Solution:

• Renovate the existing 1968 and 1993 portions of the building
• Construct a new two story addition to meet capacity needs and maximize space

Cost Considerations:

• Building an entirely new school would cost over $20 million more than the renovation/addition approach
• This solution provides the best value while meeting educational needs

The district carefully evaluated multiple options, including constructing new facilities at both Franklin and Oakwood sites, before determining this approach would best serve our community's needs while being fiscally responsible.

The district will explore all options to save and reuse any playground equipment that is impacted by building expansions. This process requires working closely with our liability carrier, equipment warranties, and with a priority on ensuring that all safety measures are followed in the reinstallation process.

The district maintains both a 10-year capital improvement plan and builds in annual dollars within the Fund 10 budget for general maintenance and upkeep.  Major updates, renovation, new construction, etc. require referendum approved funds above and beyond the district’s annual maintenance budget.  

No. Staff that currently work at one of the schools that will close or be repurposed will have job opportunities in the district. 

The district is committed to working closely with the city and local developers to explore the redevelopment of the Roosevelt site. Since the district would no longer need the building or the space it occupies, having the property continue to benefit the community would be ideal. However, the feasibility of this redevelopment will depend on the interest from developers and the zoning goals of the City. While we can't guarantee specific outcomes at this stage, we aim to collaborate with all stakeholders to find solutions that meet community needs and enhance the area. 

Lot Size by Elementary School:

• Carl Traeger (North portion only): 26.6 Acres (Total site is 42.42 Acres)
• Emmeline Cook Elementary: 8.74 Acres
• Franklin Elementary: 10.87 Acres
• Jefferson Elementary: 2.41 Acres
• Lakeside Elementary: 8.94 Acres
• Menominee Elementary: 6.71 Acres
• Oaklawn Elementary: 4.64 Acres
• Oakwood Elementary: 14.57 Acres + 13.86 Acres (Sheldon Nature Area)
• Read Elementary: 3.63 Acres
• Roosevelt Elementary: 3.15 Acres
• Shapiro Elementary: 10.30 Acres