To the editor:
It must have come as a surprise to Shawano area residents that the Shawano School Board is no longer allowing the community to use the same swimming pool paid for and maintained by taxpayers. I am writing, of course, about the swimming pool at the Shawano Community High School that is often referred to as Shawano’s best kept secret.
Few are aware that a clean, well-managed and maintained swimming pool with handicap accessibility is open to the public— the same public who paid for its construction and maintenance with school levy bonds coupled with the assurance to the taxpayers the pool would be available for community use.
The Shawano School Board has decided students and swim teams are the only groups allowed to use the pool taxpayers paid for. Taxpayers were told the swimming pool would be available to the public. The board’s reasoning to close the pool, to the public, is that few use the pool and the cost of maintenance is high. They have failed to mention the school district must maintain the pool for the students and swim teams that use the pool almost daily.
With community open swim hours limited to six hours a week, the cost is negligible. The health benefits to the public are priceless.
The Shawano School District needs to re-evaluate its decision and start telling the public about the pool. They could operate the SCHS swimming pool much the same way that Clintonville High School does for their community. Raise the admission, open the swimming pool on weekends, let families and the elderly know they have a place to exercise (and improve their health) without the young kids and crowds found at the Shawano Recreation Center.
I would have no problem paying for a yearly pass or a higher daily pass.
When it comes to the next school levy, maybe they would get more taxpayer support.
Glen McIntosh,
Shawano
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