OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Oshkosh Area Schools will have two referendums on November’s ballot.
The referendums, which were approved at a board meeting Wednesday night, seek to renew existing operating funds and fund school facility improvements.
Capital Referendum — $107 million
The larger of the two referendums requests $107 million in capital funds to advance a long-range facilities plan.
More than $35 million dollars would go toward a new elementary school on the current Webster site.
The district would then spend $53 million on a new middle school next to the current Merrill site.
With new schools comes consolidation. The district would move from 20 schools to 14, according to Oshkosh Schools Superintendent Vickie Cartwright.
“The remaining Merill, Webster and Washington students would be sent to Emmeline Cook, Read and Oaklawn via boundary changes. We’d close the Merrill and Webster schools as they exist now due to the new building construction,” Oshkosh Schools Deputy Superintendent David Gundlach said.
Of the $107 million, nearly $9 million dollars would be spent on school security upgrades, which would change the location of school offices to the front. Visitors would then be entering a more controlled environment.
An additional $9 million would be used for infrastructure upgrades, such as an upgraded fire alarm and new roofing.
So what does this mean for taxpayers?
In 2021, taxpayers would spend an extra $48 per year, per $100,000 in home value.
In 2022, the tax hike jumps to $70 per year.
And in 2023 and beyond, $85 per year.
“It’s going to be constructed over a period of four years, it’s going to be financed over a period of 20 years, and it’s going to be utilized over a period of 100 years,” Gundlach said.
Operational Referendum — $7.95 million
The operating funds referendum requests a renewal of $7.95 million in annual funds. The funds would go toward the district’s community-developed strategic plan, which seeks to provide students with academic programs, technology for learning and support services.
“Because this is a continuation, the projected tax impact of that is that there’s no tax impact. In other words, there would be no increase in the mil rate, there would be no additional dollars per year,” Cartwright told FOX 11.
The Oshkosh Area School District began this process in 2017 with a facilities study.
Since March, coronavirus has changed school as we know it. District leaders acknowledged that COVID-19 has hit Oshkosh families hard.
“We are in unprecedented waters to put it mildly. And I really wonder if this is a good time. We say that timing is everything. We have a lot of unanswered questions at the moment. For example, what is school going to look like in the fall? Are we going to do more virtual online learning?” school board member Stephanie Carlin said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Other board members echoed Carlin’s concerns, but said they need to think of a future beyond COVID-19.
“We have to look into the future, that’s what we’re here for. And when it gets to be now, I don’t think that’s our concern anymore. Because we are planning out the path that we want the district to go on,” board member Jim Evans said in response to Carlin’s concerns.
Ultimately, the board voted unanimously to put the referendums on the ballot.
The district says it will prepare and share informational materials about the funding requests to help residents make an informed vote on November 3rd.
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