The Oshkosh Area School Board voted to put a $197.8 million referendum on the April ballot, despite a mistake from the district that changed the referendum plan last minute. The referendum will pay for the district's Phase 2 facilities plan. The Oshkosh Area School District overlooked a zoning issue in their original Phase 2 plan. The district spent $1.198 million on properties surrounding South Park Middle School to prepare for an expansion, not realizing a zoning ordinance would render the expansion illegal.OASD began presenting their Phase 2 facilities plan in September 2024. At this time, the plan included a complete remodel and expansion of the century-old South Park Middle School. South Park is currently in the middle of a take off and landing zone for the Wittman Regional Airport. In October 2022, The City of Oshkosh and Winnebago County began discussing a zone change for the area. The change would prohibit buildings that attract large gathering of people including an expanded middle school. The County and City determined the flight path was at risk for crashes and was unsafe for large groups of people. The County held a meeting in October 2022 to discuss the change with effected parties, including OASD. An invitation was sent to the district, but superintendent Dr. Bryan Davis says they did not see the notice. In January 2023, the County held a final hearing on the ordinance, posting a notice in the Oshkosh Northwestern. Dr. Davis says the district did not receive an individual invitation and did not see the notice in the newspaper. The ordinance passed in January 2023 without the district knowing. OASD continued with their plan to prepare for an expansion at South Park Middle School. Since 2021, OASD purchased six properties near the school. They currently own 1504 and 1520 Georgia Street and 725, 747, 751 and 755 W South Park Ave. According to district communications and executive director of business services, Drew Niehans, OASD spent a total of $1.98 million on buying and removing these houses. In September 2024, a concerned community member informed the district about the zoning ordinance and the illegality of the South Park expansion in the Phase 2 plan. Dr. Davis says he brought the person's concern to the project architects, who then spoke with the city zoning administrator, Mark Lyons. Lyons told Nate Considine, an architect on the Phase 2 project, that there were no issues with the plan. Considine told the school board on Wednesday, Jan. 8, that he did not ask specifically about the airport zoning ordinance.In December 2024, the same concerned community member brought the zoning issue to Dr. Timothy Hess, a board member. Dr. Hess asked Dr. Davis to reexamine the issue.Dr. Davis met with City and County officials on Dec. 16, when the zoning ordinance was finally identified. OASD sent out a notice to the public on Dec. 17. To put the referendum question on the ballot, the school board must approve the question and its dollar amount by Jan. 21. On Jan. 8, the school board heard the final Phase 2 plan, accounting for the zoning ordinance at South Park Middle School. The new plan builds a middle school at the Shapiro STEM Academy site, which, while still near the airport, is not within the zoning ordinance area. The plan also moves the new pre-K center from Shapiro to the Perry Tipler Middle School site.What happened was not acceptable," Dr. Davis said to the board on Jan. 8. "We hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we will do better moving forward... Well hold ourselves responsible and move forward on behalf of kids and do whats right for kids."Board members expressed concerns over the entire situation, including Dr. Hess, who said the community has "lost trust" in the school district. Board member Kelly DeWitt said the mistake was an embarrassment."$1.2 million was wasted, and now we're asking the community to trust us," DeWitt said. DeWitt and Hess were the only two board members to vote against putting the referendum question on the ballot.Board member Molly Smiltneek, despite voting to approve the ballot question, also criticized the district for the mistake. Smiltneek said it was a complete "breakdown of communication."Board member Stephanie Carlin said she found the mistake unbelievable, but that it was a "blessing in disguise.""We have zoning ordinances for a reason," Carlin says. "... I actually think this is a better plan."Mallory Schneider Birschbach, a community member, spoke during public comment in support of the referendum. "If you're upset about the district having to go to referendums, then contact your state elected officials," Schneider Birschbach said.Brandon Souza is a parent of two in the district. He did not attend the meeting but expressed frustration over the referendum. "Another one already?" Souza said. "I mean, this last one cost me $500 the other two, I think it's $300 a year, and then they're like, Oh, well, your taxes won't go up. And I'm like, how can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars, but then claim the taxes aren't going up?"At the board meeting, DeWitt and Dr. Hess also said they were concerned the claim of a $0 tax increase by the district was not going to be true.Souza's children attend Vel Phillips Middle School and Menominee Elementary School. "My child said it's chaos," Souza said. "There's there's just so many kids in there. The state testing scores came out, they're no better than they were at the last school. You have a new building, but the same old problems."