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Oshkosh Area School District board meeting, Aug 12, 2026

3 h 53 min · 0 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 1:19:10Reading and test scores ▶ 2:11:35Safety, weapons and police ▶ 6:22

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 3 h 53 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Oshkosh board hears school resource officer agreement report and budget shortfall update 6:22

  • The board heard a verbal report on the school resource officer memorandum of understanding with the Oshkosh Police Department, and Molly Smiltneek asked about district input into officer evaluation and placement and officer access to student records. 7:00
  • A presenter said the district exceeded its approved budget by approximately $3,341,000 and that fund balance will be reduced to $13,903,000, approximately 7% of Fund 10 expenditures. 1:19:40
  • The board reviewed proposed key performance indicators for the strategic plan, which the superintendent said would be brought back for approval at the next meeting. 2:11:35
  • A motion carried, and the board then moved to the CESA 6 contract for '26-'27. 3:45:23

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and land acknowledgment 0:14
    • The board took roll, recited the Pledge of Allegiance and heard a land acknowledgment from the superintendent. 0:25
  2. Retirement and staff recognition 1:27
    • The board recognized a retiring school office assistant at Oshkosh West, and Dr. Barbara Herzog extended best wishes on the retiree's service to the district. 1:27
    • Speakers thanked custodial and facilities staff for summer work, and a staff member said construction projects and renovations created extra work. 2:08
  3. Superintendent's report 3:02
    • A staff member described summer school classes, a Summer Trades Academy for high school students and a three-day new teacher academy. 3:07
  4. School resource officer agreement 6:22
    • A presenter said the district ideally has 6 school resource officers, is currently one short, and pays half of the salary, approximately $305,000. 12:52
    • Molly Smiltneek asked why the district accepted no formal role in evaluating, choosing or placing officers, and a staff member said the formal mechanism is providing feedback, and later said officers will continue to have access to student records in Infinite Campus. 17:25
    • One board member said the agreement had the board member's full support and asked whether its cost comes out of Fund 80 or Fund 10, and a speaker said the '25-'26 cost came out of Fund 10. 54:03
  5. Referendum construction update 58:31
    • A presenter said the Phase 2 referendum projects as a whole are under budget and the district will be ready for the start of the school year. 59:02
    • A staff member said the AC projects are completing on time and on budget, while the Franklin and Oakwood projects are running approximately 2 weeks behind schedule due to large rain events and other factors. 1:09:42
    • Jacob Wolf asked whether part of the Franklin parking lot would be the only play area this year, and a staff member said yes. 1:12:05
  6. Mod rate and safety plan reports 1:13:30
    • Dr. Barbara Herzog said the mod rate for 2026⁠-⁠27 is projected at 1.31%, which is lower than projected. 1:13:44
    • Dr. Barbara Herzog said the Wisconsin Association of School Boards Insurance Plan Trust is subsidizing a 6-hour safety simulation training to which the district could send up to 11 staff members. 1:16:17
  7. Budget update 1:19:10
    • A presenter said the district exceeded its approved budget by approximately $3,341,000, leaving fund balance at $13,903,000 against a policy of 12 to 18%, and that the audit was pushed back to September. 1:19:40
    • One board member said a deficit for the second year in a row was very concerning, and another board member asked what expenses arose between April and the end of the fiscal year. 1:27:06
    • The presenter said an additional reduction of $5.7 million to $6.1 million would be needed to balance 2026⁠-⁠27, with health care a large driver. 1:45:25
  8. Committee minutes correction and public comment 2:09:54
    • A speaker said Education Committee minutes incorrectly stated that no Chromebooks would go home for middle school students this year and that no change is happening this coming school year. 2:09:57
    • No one signed up for public comment. ~2:11:16
  9. Academic performance indicators 2:11:16
    • The superintendent said the key performance indicators had been narrowed from 19 to 8 and would come back for approval at the next meeting. 2:11:35
    • A staff member said 45% of students in grades 3 through 8 are proficient in math and 47 in English language arts, with 5-year goals to increase those by 10% and 8%. 2:18:42
    • One board member described being a strong proponent of using 1 through 8 iReady to measure growth. 2:39:55
  10. Staff retention indicator 2:47:06
    • A staff member said the 2026 baseline for staff retention is 89%, with a target of at least 92% by the 2030⁠-⁠31 school year. 2:47:45
    • Beth Wyman asked what happens to the percentage if the district makes structural changes. 2:49:12
  11. Student sense of belonging indicator 2:59:51
    • A staff member proposed using the student belonging survey, with a baseline of 3.04 and a 5-year goal of 3.25. 2:59:58
    • The staff member said the survey is not mandatory and participation rates would be provided at the next meeting. 3:05:19
  12. Community information reach indicator 3:09:37
    • A staff member said average clicks on district updates are currently 1,500, with a goal of 9,000. 3:09:46
    • Molly Smiltneek asked whether there would be strategies for more consistent school-level communication with families, and the staff member said the strategy would include supporting school-level family communication. 3:19:55
  13. Fund balance indicator and planning framework 3:20:38
    • A presenter said staying at 7% fund balance next year would be a victory and the projected 5-year goal would be to reach policy. 3:20:41
    • One board member suggested finding interim measures so results are not just an end-of-the-year splash. 3:35:55
    • One board member said 1 through 8 is fine for growth scores, and a staff member said the measure would be modified to 1 through 8. 3:37:27
  14. Consent agenda 3:40:48
    • Speakers asked to remove items 1 and 3, leaving only item 2 on the consent agenda. 3:41:09
  15. Item 3:41:47
    • One board member said a line on page 3 reading 3 quantitative or qualitative goals was confusing because the board agreed there should be 4 goals. 3:42:08
    • Dr. Barbara Herzog moved to amend the minutes to remove that line. 3:44:33
    • The motion to amend carried. 3:45:23

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

What was said

What board members said, in order

Well, and I would be a proponent of ideally we don't have to worry long-term about the stretch growth because we have gotten kids on the routine of we are making at least the standard growth that is expected developmentally in a year.Molly Smiltneek · Clerk2:39:55
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Video: posted by the district as “Oshkosh Area Board of Education 8/12/26”