Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Facilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Special Olympics coach tells board 'This pool isn't just a building' and urges retaining middle school pool
Summary
Christie Baker Ott, swim coach for Elkhart County Special Olympics, urged the Middlebury board during public comment to keep the middle school pool open, calling it 'a lifeline' for athletes with special needs and asking the board to weigh human impact alongside financial concerns.
Christie Baker Ott, swim coach for Elkhart County Special Olympics, addressed the Middlebury Community Schools Board during public comment on May 19 and urged trustees to consider keeping the district's middle school pool open. "This pool isn't just a building or a line item. It's a lifeline," she said, asking the board to weigh the human cost of eliminating the facility.
Baker Ott said the district's past support'access to the pool and volunteer involvement'has helped athletes feel safe, capable and included. She acknowledged the board faces difficult financial choices: "I'm not here to pretend the financial side doesn't matter. It absolutely does," she said, while stressing that routines, familiar spaces and opportunities for inclusion matter deeply for athletes with special needs.
Her remarks were framed as an appeal to preserve opportunities and dignity for a vulnerable group of students and community members; no formal action on the pool was taken during the meeting.
The speaker identified herself as Christie Baker Ott and gave her address for the record.
