Although Superintendent Joe Graves has decided to close the swimming pool at Mitchell Middle School, a member of the Mitchell school board stressed Friday that the decision is not final until the board considers it and makes the decision as a body.
Graves last week said that he has made an administrative decision to close the pool, saying it's a "done deal" as far as he is concerned. Closing the pool would save the district more than $60,000 annually, he said, but the decision has raised the ire of local swimming boosters and especially the membership of the Mitchell Aquatic Club, which practices at the pool.
Without an indoor practice facility, the club's future is uncertain, some of its members are saying.
Brenda Freidel on Friday said that no decision about the pool is a done deal "until we have it come in front of the board and we vote on it as a group."
That said, Freidel believes Graves' decision to close the 40-year-old pool is the correct course of action.
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"It's quite expensive to operate a swimming pool, and it's not directly correlated with student achievement," she said. Freidel said it's also her understanding that the pool will need cash for repairs in order to remain open.
"It's a difficult decision," she said.
The board is scheduled to discuss the pool closure at its regularly scheduled meeting today. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. in Room 116 at the Capital Street campus of Mitchell Technical Institute.
It's likely that representatives from the Mitchell Aquatic Club will be in attendance at tonight's meeting, and it's also likely they will ask for a delay on a decision about the pool.
In a letter to the editor that's published on Page 4 of today's edition, MAC coach Chuck Baechler says "the community should be allowed an opportunity to explore an alternative to immediate closure in order to maintain the programming that provides such an important health and safety benefit to our community while we explore a longterm solution to this problem."
He urges Graves to delay a decision to "to allow a reasonable opportunity to explore alternatives to closing the pool immediately" and asks "that the school board fulfill its obligation as an independent elected body and allow the public to explore options to the summary elimination of a program that has promoted the health and safety of our community for the past 40 years."
With budget shortfalls looming for 2010-2011, Graves said the pool is an expense the district can no longer afford. He said that about $67,000 of the 40-year-old pool's $88,000 maintenance costs are covered by the school district. The city of Mitchell and the Mitchell Aquatic Club cover the remainder.
Under Graves' plan, the pool will be closed and the space converted to a practice gym for girls' gymnastics.
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Board member Neil Putnam said it's Graves' job to identify potential savings, "but at some point those recommendations will come before the board."
Friday, Putnam declined further comment until he hears Graves' report.
"Once he gives us the whole big picture we'll see how it falls into place. I'm sure he's trying to get some community feedback," he said.
Board member Bob Everson says it's his understanding that the pool closure is just one item on Graves' list of recommendations.
"It's something the board will discuss. I don't know that it's a done deal," he said .
His background as a mechanical engineer has taught him that indoor pools are "extremely expensive to operate," said Everson.
Freidel believes criticism that the school board "rubber-stamps" Graves' decisions is unfair.
"I don't personally 'rubberstamp' all of Joe's decisions; I just happen to agree with him on this one," she said.
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Board President Dana Price was on vacation last week, but will attend today's meeting. Board member Eric Christensen could not be reached for comment for this report.
