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Parents, athletes and coaches urge Anoka-Hennepin board to prioritize pools as repair costs rise
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Summary
Community members told the school board that swim and dive programs are vital to students’ well‑being and asked the district to prioritize pool repairs amid competing facility and budget demands. Board administrators said several pool projects are included in the district’s long‑term facilities plan and that costs have risen.
Parents, coaches, students and alumni told the Anoka‑Hennepin School Board on June 23 that the district should prioritize repairs to aging pools and preserve competitive swim and dive programs.
Speakers said pools provide academic and social benefits and help develop leaders, and several asked board members to increase spending or find partners to keep pools open and safe for practices and meets.
Why it matters: The district is preparing a 10‑year long‑term facilities maintenance (LTFM) plan and a fiscal‑year 2026 operating budget. Trustees approved the LTFM plan and later approved the FY26 budget after a divided discussion; speakers told the board the rising cost of repairs threatens programs that community members say produce academic and extracurricular benefits.
What community members said
- Scott Mackey, boys swim and dive coach at Andover High School, presented statewide participation data and urged the board to preserve pools for competitive programs. He said the district’s classification for swimming is comparable with others in the state and described local examples of other districts rebuilding pools.
- Nicole Hedman, head coach of Anoka girls and boys swimming and diving, told the board the sport teaches “consistency and routine, resilience and goal setting,” and said academic outcomes for swimmers have been strong: “Across Anoka‑Hennepin’s eight high school programs that participated this year, six teams earned Coaches Association silver academic awards.”
- Student speakers described personal benefits. Cadence Brandon, an Anoka swimmer, said joining the team improved her mental health and gave “friendship, confidence, and purpose.” Ruth Guy, an Anoka graduate who now swims at the college level, said closing the Fred Moore Pool would “take away a community, a support system, and an opportunity for countless students.”
District presentations and officials’ responses
- Greg Cole, chief operations officer, and Ben Martinson, director of buildings and grounds, presented the district’s proposed fiscal‑year 2027 LTFM list and said mechanical and health‑and‑safety projects dominate the plan. Ben Martinson said the plan includes mechanical work and pool projects and warned that “the more we look, the more we find” when assessing older pool facilities.
- The LTFM packet lists mechanical, roof, accessibility, health and safety, pavement and pool work across sites; for FY27 the presentation specifically named Anoka Middle School and North Dale Middle School pools among higher‑priority items.
- Michelle Vargas, the district chief financial officer, presented the proposed FY26 all‑funds budget and said recent legislative changes reduced the district’s projected shortfall by about $1 million: “I think we actually came out a little shy of a million dollars to the good on this,” she said. Vargas and others cautioned that long‑term facility needs and competing priorities mean the district must prioritize work across many urgent projects.
Board action tied to pool funding and facilities
- The board approved the district’s LTFM 10‑year plan (appendix Q) on a 6‑0 vote. Trustees were told LTFM revenue is limited — funded at $380 per pupil statewide — and that large projects often require phasing or multiple funding sources.
- Trustees later approved the FY26 budget. During discussion, administrators told the board that full rehabilitation of older pools — including structural, mechanical and roof work — can reveal additional issues and push estimates higher; Ben Martinson said some repairs require simultaneous work on roofs and structural walls because the systems are integrated.
Quantitative details and context
- Brad Johnson, who identified himself as a parent and Anoka County attorney, told the board he’d heard an estimate of $9 million to $12 million for mechanical and structural repairs across district pools and urged a higher near‑term spending priority than the roughly $2.4 million the administration had proposed for next year.
- The LTFM presentation shows a multi‑year program of mechanical, safety, and site work; the district noted that projects may shift year to year based on urgency and unforeseen discoveries during work.
Ending and next steps
The board adopted the LTFM plan and the FY26 budget, and staff said they will continue to investigate pools and return to trustees with more precise cost estimates and phased options. Administrators and several board members urged continued community engagement and said staff would present safety updates and facilities work at upcoming meetings.
