Board says get out of the water

The community open swim and open weight room programs at Shawano Community High School will end this summer. Administrators told the School Board on Monday that the costs of providing access to the facilities far exceeded the revenue they generated. “The cost differential between what we provide and what has been brought in is drastic,” Superintendent Gary Cumberland said. Cumberland said, through June 1, in 2014 the swimming pool and weight room generated $785 and $196 in revenue, respectively, but the district spent $9,782 on staffing and maintenance for the pool and $5,290 for the weight room. “This is something that was utilized a lot more in the past, but currently not as much,” Cumberland said. Board members said there were other fitness options available to residents in the community. “We felt we were comfortable with doing this because we are not reducing community opportunity,” Michael Sleeper said. “In both cases there are other options within the community.” The city’s Recreation Center pool is open to the community, and private fitness centers, such as Snap Fitness and Total Fitness, have weight training equipment available, board members noted. Jean Darling, owner of Shawano Total Fitness and a former School Board member, said she appreciated the difficulty of the board’s decision. “It is a challenging decision for them to make since the school was built on an open door to the community,” she said. “I assume it will bring in more business at the Recreation Center and at the other fitness centers in the community.” Open swimming at the Shawano Community High School pool will remain available through July from 7-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Open weight room hours will continue through August from 5-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Daily fees for the pool ranged from 50 cents to $2 depending on age and residency. Weight room daily fees ranged from $1 to $3. Participants also could buy annual weight room passes for $100.75 and swimming pool passes for $133. Reduced rates also were available through a membership to Shawano Community Education, which costs $33 per year.