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Parents urge board to preserve pool and fix school grounds; superintendent says parking-lot funding planned
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Summary
Multiple residents urged the Taylor School Board to keep the district pool and to address neglected grounds and parking lots; the superintendent said grant funding and design work are underway for parking-lot repairs at Moody and Johnson.
Several residents spoke during public comment at the April 22 board meeting urging the district to keep the pool, improve landscaping and address deteriorating parking lots.
Lynette Steiner told the board she favors retaining the pool and said swimming education is important in Michigan: "I think that we should keep the pool," she said, noting community and safety benefits. Multiple speakers said losing the pool would remove an important local facility and suggested options that could raise revenue, such as opening pool time to community users.
Speakers also urged immediate attention to grounds at the high school: parents described trash, broken concrete, weeds and potholes and requested that the district hire professional landscapers this summer so the school appearance matches new athletic facilities. "It's embarrassing," one parent said of visible neglect in parking and grounds.
A speaker named Rich Pratt said residents can sometimes learn more from informal sources than from the district website and urged improved online transparency. In response, the superintendent said the district has grant funds set aside for Moody and Johnson parking-lot work and that engineering and architecture firms are preparing bid documents so the work can go out to bid this summer. "We have grant money that's been set aside specifically for Moody and Johnson's parking lots," he told attendees, and staff said they would post updates online as plans are finalized.
Board members repeatedly expressed support for keeping the pool and discussed community-based ways to preserve programming while also noting scheduling and security challenges if activities are moved between buildings. One board member pledged to oppose any proposal to remove the pool "under no circumstances," and urged residents that they would need four votes to block such a change.
Speakers and board members agreed on potential near-term responses such as directed maintenance pickup, targeted CTE projects to involve students in upkeep, and short-term operations work while larger design and bid processes proceed.
The board noted that more detailed decisions about the pool or large capital changes would be brought to future meetings when full cost and program information are available.
