Noell Dickmann

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

The Oshkosh Area School Board passed a list of hefty cuts to its budget Wednesday should an April 5 Referendum for Learning not pass.

The first year of cuts - $3.4 million - would be enacted in the 2016-17 school year, the largest of which would be to require all middle school students to take one study hall. The $1,120,000-savings would eliminate 16 teaching positions and keep students from taking electives such as family consumer science and technology and engineering, according to documents presented at the meeting.

Other cuts in the first year include closing a middle school, increasing class sizes and reducing the high school athletic budget by $90,000.

However, the referendum's passing would also include $600,000 in security upgrades to district buildings in 2016-17, a move administrators have said was recommended by local authorities to increase school safety. The cameras would be installed in hallways, common areas and buildings' exteriors.

The district would cut $4 million in the 2017-18 school year.

Related:Oshkosh schools release possible budget cuts

Three residents gave their input on the referendum, one of whom strongly opposed it, before the vote.

Town of Black Wolf resident Charles Beyer said Oshkosh residents have to live within their means and the school district must do the same. He also suggested the district consider moving to year-round schooling.

"It's one referendum after another," he said. "When does it stop?"

With 80 percent of the district's budget made up by people, administrators have said the cuts would push it even lower than it already is in comparison to other school districts.

Besides teacher turnover, Oshkosh would most likely lose students, as the cuts would eliminate numerous opportunities that neighboring districts have that Oshkosh would not.

The state funding formula has not kept up with inflation, Superintendent Stan Mack said in an interview Tuesday that funding has actually gone down.

It's an issue districts are grappling with all over the state, as there are 55 districts in Wisconsin going to referendum in April, said Board President Steve Dedow at Wednesday's meeting.

School board member John Lemberger said the district has struggled every year since he joined the board in 2008.

"We have really tried. We closed schools, froze salaries, cut and cut and cut - even gone to the extremes of changing the phone system to save money," he said. "We're in a straitjacket."

Reach Noell Dickmann at 920-426-6658 or ndickmann@thenorthwestern.com; or follow her on Twitter @ONW_Noell. Nathaniel Shuda contributed to this report.

2016-17 Proposed Budget Reduction List

Require all middle school students to take one study hall ($1.12 million) Eliminate all lower enrollment classes and electives in middle and high schools to increase average class size and transfer orchestra to Fund 80 ($595,000 and $280,000) Close one of five middle schools ($350,000) Reduce employee health plan by requiring a spousal surcharge ($300,000) Decrease teacher preparation at the secondary level by eliminating supervisory assistants and requiring teachers to sub for 16 periods ($160,000 and $60,000) Reduce district administration ($130,000) Reduce high school athletic budget ($90,000) Double high school athletic participation fee from $50 for each sport to $100

Combine North and West high school teams for the following sports Football Boys and girls golf Softball Boys swimming Boys and girls soccer Boys and girls cross country

Increase high school music teaching load from four to five sections ($84,000) Eliminate funding for professional development and reduce employee travel ($60,000 and $25,000) Reduce building budgets by 5 percent ($43,296) Reduce district clerical and maintenance staff ($55,000 and $65,000) Sell Ryf Road property ($700,000)

2017-18 Proposed Budget Reduction List

Combine two elementary schools into one middle school ($250,000) Suspend compensation increase for all staff and eliminate department chairs ($1 million and $71,000) Contract cleaning for all facilities ($420,000) Reduce K-5 art, music and physical education specialists by half ($700,000) Eliminate math and literacy intervention teachers ($880,000) Eliminate all professional development and instructional support not mandated by federal programs, such as Title 1 ($1.42 million)

Source: Oshkosh Area School District