 - Lander school officials continued to discuss alternative funding options for the Bruce Gresly Aquatic Center this month in response to potential state-level budget changes and declining enrollments in Fremont County School District 1.){kind=link}
(Lander, WY) – Lander school officials continued to discuss alternative funding options for the Bruce Gresly Aquatic Center this month in response to potential state-level budget changes and declining enrollments in Fremont County School District 1.
The district expects to spend about $540,000 on pool operations this year, Superintendent Mike Harris said during a school board work session last week – and while the center generates approximately $110,000 through membership fees and other charges, the remaining cost continues to draw from other areas of the FCSD 1 budget.
Those expenses support a facility that is primarily used by the public, Harris added – a situation that has prompted local school officials to re-evaluate “the appropriate level of district funding” for the pool and whether there might be “some other ways” to offset the cost.
“We’re not in any way interested in eliminating (the pool) if we can help it,” he said. “But (it has) become an issue as we see these declines in enrollment and potential changes to the funding model. …
“This is really coming to a head.”
Trustee Mara Gans agreed that district leaders are “absolutely not … trying to get rid of the pool” – rather, they’re “trying to (develop) a more resilient funding model” so the facility “doesn’t just rely upon us” and “so that we can sustain the pool for forever.”
That was the idea in 1975, when the school district entered into an agreement with the City of Lander and the Lander Recreation Board to “financially support the pool,” Harris said.
Based on that agreement, all three entities “were supposed to equitably share the costs” to operate the facility, he explained, but “over time, as we know, that has not been able to be the case” – and at this point, FCSD 1 has been financially supporting the center on its own for about 10 years.
In order to “honor our original agreement,” Trustee Jared Kail said it “would be fair to all parties” if all three entities contributed one-third of the cost for pool operations – though he suggested that user fees collected from the public could be credited toward the city’s share.
Otherwise, Kail said, “at some point we’re going to have to say, potentially … do we pay teachers, or do we keep the pool open? (And) we don’t ever want to be in a position where we have to make that kind of decision.”
The Lander Recreation Board has more than $300,000 available to distribute this year, Trustee Aileen Brew said, but she noted that 40 other local organizations have already applied for the funding.
Other ideas
When he met with Lander Mayor Missy White to discuss the issue, Harris said they talked about looking for grants to support pool operations and potentially asking the city to waive water utility fees for the facility.
Business Manager Travis Sweeney said, “another option that has been discussed in the past (is) maybe getting together with the city to pass some kind of local tax” to support the pool.
Gans said it would be ideal if that kind of tax could target tourists using local hotels and short-term rentals, for example, instead of Lander residents.