The deteriorating starting blocks at the Shawano Community High School swimming pool will be replaced as soon as possible.
A unanimous vote Monday by the Shawano School Board will allow the district’s maintenance department to exceed its emergency repairs budget by up to $8,000 so the repairs can take place during the current school year.
The blocks have been in place since the high school was built in 1997. Jeff Easter, the district’s maintenance director, told the board that some of the existing blocks were repaired previously, but they’ve reached a point where patchwork will no longer cut it, according to Easter.
“We can’t tie them down anymore. They’re starting to have a wiggle to them,” Easter said. “You can imagine a swimmer trying to push off of this thing, and it moves on them.”
The district had $6,000 in its 2014-15 budget for emergency repairs. However, the estimated cost of the blocks is close to $13,854, Easter said, although he is hoping to find them for a lower price. District staff would perform the labor.
Board member Jay Jones agreed the money should be made available, as students could be at risk if the existing blocks give out completely.
“It’s quite a safety issue. The tops aren’t coarse enough anymore; you can slip off very easily,” Jones said. “They’re only anchored in two locations, whereas the new ones are anchored in four.”
The additional funding was endorsed by the district’s Buildings and Grounds and Finance committees.
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