This story comes from the Wisconsin News Collaborative, a partnership of public media newsrooms including WPR, WUWM, and WXPR.
After months of debate and public outcry, a public pool operated by the Antigo Unified School District will stay open.
The Antigo School Board this week voted 5-2 to fund operations for the pool. The vote came after hours of budget discussion at multiple board meetings, the resignation of the former school board president and the election of new officers to the board.
The Clara R. McKenna Aquatic Center has been at the center of controversy in the north central Wisconsin city of about 8,000 after the board closed it suddenly in September as members questioned whether the district could continue to finance it.
The vote is not the end of the work for local supporters of the pool, said Tom Koss, board member of the Unified School District of Antigo Foundation, a nonprofit that has been helping the pool with donations since it opened. But Koss said it will allow him to reach out to donors.
“We even have a preliminary committee to begin a fundraising campaign,” he said.
Estimates from the board earlier this year, contested by some residents, said pool expenses could be anywhere from $450,000 to $1 million per year. The pool has had financial support from the district for years, and Koss said the new funding from the board will amount to around $600,000. In previous years, it was only around $300,000.
“What this means is that the pool will be able to operate,” Koss said.
Pool funding problems and transparency questions
Board members have consistently said the pool needs more community donations to operate effectively. Earlier this year, the board announced a $140,000 shortfall in the funding.
Residents rallied to raise enough donations to meet the shortfall, but the effort also raised tensions between the board and community members, who questioned the district’s financial decisions and the choice to close the pool in September.
It reopened earlier this month after heavy pushback from locals.
In a 39-page document released only hours before an emergency meeting about reopening the pool, the board claimed the aquatic center has lost money for years, is not sustainable and was illegally funded under state law.
But residents, including former pool board members, dispute those claims.
Residents have also questioned why the board voted to spend $5 million on a new football stadium at the same time that it was seeking to close the pool.
The football stadium and pool costs are paid for out of different funds.
In the midst of the debate, the board experienced a major shift. During an Oct. 15 meeting, board members discussed removing existing board leaders from their current roles — and potentially kicking them off the board entirely.
Danny Pyeatt, then-president, announced his resignation before that meeting. The board then held an internal election for new officers.
The board also clarified its stance on the pool at that meeting: The district would continue to maintain it.
In its meeting this week, the board followed up on that promise. But some members, including board member Randy Myers, called for more transparency.
“What I’m trying to say is there’s a pattern of providing last-minute materials with insufficient time for review and a selective omission of needed agenda items,” Myers said. “In my opinion, this needs to stop.”
Myers presented a motion to hold off on the budget for several days, to give locals a chance to look at the itemized budget with potential costs and expenses before the board approved it. His motion failed.
Pool budget debated, funding approved
Much of the discussion about the proposed budget was focused on the pool and its costs of operations.
Discussion from staff and the board raised the possibility that the district may need to hire specially trained staff and look into more extensive donations and funding options.
In public comment, residents worried about proposed increases in taxes for the school district, and some were specifically concerned about the dollars supposedly going to the pool.
The decision to fund the pool wasn’t unanimous. Board Member Angela Schrieber said she couldn’t support a levy increase for the pool because of the additional cost to homeowners. She claimed many locals were against an increase for a pool only a few people use — a claim many residents dispute.
Board Treasurer Daniel Nicholson, responding to public complaints, said the board couldn’t ignore the pool, right after approving millions for a new athletic complex — despite their dollars coming from different funds.
“We are willing to do $5 million for the complex,” he said. “But I also think that this pool deserves that much respect and commitment from us.”
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