Antigo school board reclaims oversight of McKenna Aquatic Center, bars Fund 10 spending

The Unified School District of Antigo Board of Education voted in a special meeting to reassert full oversight of the McKenna Aquatic Center and to require that only Fund 80 be used for the pool’s operations and maintenance.

Legal counsel Davis Rundy opened the discussion by telling trustees the meeting was intended to resolve both governance and compliance issues after staff raised concerns about how the facility had been managed and financed. Rundy said the pool has been largely governed by an outside "pool board" that, as presented to the school board, appeared to lack bylaws, public meeting notices and records. He advised the district to "take back the authority" so the board could ensure compliance with open‑meetings and public‑records obligations.

Kelly Fastbender, the district’s director of business services, told the board the aquatic center "is operating at a deficit." She provided two deficit estimates in the presentation: a reported deficit of $10,195 and what she called a "true operational deficit" of at least $90,949. Kelly said a one‑time grant included in the current revenue (quoted in the presentation as 333,350) was intended for a slide restoration project and that multiple costs historically charged to the district’s general fund (Fund 10) should instead be allocated to Fund 80, the fund dedicated to community service programs.

Those fund‑accounting rules, Kelly and counsel said, were reinforced by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) in recent conversations. Counsel and staff said DPI told the district that Fund 46 and Fund 10 are not allowable sources for ongoing aquatic‑center maintenance and operations when the facility’s primary use is a community service program. The board was warned that continuing to mix Fund 10 and Fund 80 for pool operations would constitute a misuse of restricted public funds.

Trustees heard that the aquatic center had roughly $150,000 in remaining Fund 80 balance, about $125,000 in deferred maintenance items and roughly $90,000 of immediate safety‑related repairs including slide restoration and a door operator. Director of Buildings and Grounds Jake Lightiderman said a donor had offered funds to pay for part of that work "as long as the district commits to accomplishing those items," but he cautioned that if compliance steps were not taken the city could enforce building‑code violations and the state could intervene.

After extended discussion of options — including raising the Fund 80 levy, using donations, reconstituting the pool board, contracting maintenance, temporarily limiting use to school activities, or shutting the facility — Trustee Angie Shriber moved that the board reassert full control and oversight of the aquatic center and require the return of past operational records to the board clerk. The motion passed.

Later the board moved, at the direction of legal counsel, that "only Fund 80 will be used for the operations and maintenance of the aquatic center" and that "all other funds be utilized in a manner consistent with the law." The board amended that motion to direct administration to work with legal counsel to develop a plan for the continued operation and maintenance of the facility. The amended motion passed with one dissenting vote (JD Schrader).

Board members scheduled a Buildings & Grounds committee meeting to meet with pool‑board representatives, requested administration seek bids or cost estimates for contracted maintenance and asked staff to post and report back at the next full board meeting.

What the motions mean in practice remains to be detailed: staff and counsel said the administration must reallocate eligible pool expenses to Fund 80 and document any personnel time allocated to the facility, and that contracts or separate, documented job descriptions may be needed if staff time is split between district work and pool duties. The board directed administration and legal counsel to produce a compliance‑consistent operational and maintenance plan and to return with recommendations to the committee and the full board.

The board did not vote to close the pool. Members expressed reluctance to shut down the facility but acknowledged the district must stop using Fund 10 to subsidize ongoing aquatic operations immediately to avoid further misallocation of taxpayer dollars. The committee will meet next week to pursue short‑term steps to keep the facility safe while developing longer‑term funding and governance options.