Swimmers urge Shorewood schools to stop closing indoor pools for lightning; speakers and board cite lack of documented indoor lightning deaths

Multiple community members asked the Shorewood School District and village officials to rethink policies that require closing indoor pools during lightning storms and appealed for restored summer pool hours.

At the board meeting, public commenters described being told to leave indoor pools during electrical storms and expressed frustration about shortened summer hours. One resident, Clifford Tisser of North Newhall Street, and several regular swimmers said their experience and research led them to conclude that indoor pool lightning fatalities are effectively non‑existent. “There has never ever been in this country a death caused by a lightning strike to an indoor pool,” said 1 speaker who presented printed articles to the board. She cited a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission count of 74 electrocutions between 1990 and 2019, attributing none to lightning.

Commenters also said that closing indoor pools during storms forces patrons into less safe spaces — locker rooms, cars or outdoors — and disrupts daily routines for regular swimmers. One longtime swimmer said, “We schedule our days around our swim. ... For me personally, I'm not going to be able to swim here this summer” because shortened hours and closures make attendance impractical.

During board member reports later in the meeting, a member of the village’s recreation department advisory committee said recreation staff are following “best practices” and credited Assistant/Director Ashley (last name not recorded) with training and due diligence on pool safety decisions. The board discussed communication options for the recreation department and asked the district to partner on outreach as the department switches to a new registration system in September.

Superintendent Burgos acknowledged the concerns and asked staff to note them; the record shows board members said they would explore options for clearer communications about pool scheduling and safety policies. The meeting did not include a vote changing pool safety rules or operating hours.

The discussion underscores a recurring tension between public perception of safety policies and recreation staff protocols; speakers asked the district and recreation department to reconsider the cost to frequent users when closures are enacted.