04/16/2026
🚨 Important Message from the Antigo Swim Club – Aquatic Center Survey Concerns 🚨
The Antigo School District’s recent community survey on the future of the Clara R. McKenna Aquatic Center is one-sided and incomplete. We recommend not participating in it
Here’s why:
The survey forces you to pick from just three options with no place to add comments or suggest other ideas:
1. Approve a minimum 133% tax increase — raising the annual Fund 80 community levy from $300,000 to $700,000.
2. Sell the Aquatic Center building to a private entity to operate without taxpayer funding.
3. Close the Aquatic Center and repurpose the building for youth activities/sports.
These do not reflect the full set of ideas the school district presented to the Aquatic Center Task Force at the April 13, 2026 meeting — and the survey itself was created without involving the full Task Force.
In that April 13 document, the district listed several possible proposals (A–F), including:
• Significantly raising membership fees and reexamining rental fees for additional revenue.
• Creating donations with an endowment fund for long-term maintenance (which could help keep the levy the same).
• Other operational changes while attempting to maintain community use.
Importantly, the document notes that district school board members do not support raising the tax levy to $750,000 (or higher). It references the original 1999 Board resolution, which called for the pool to be funded and maintained primarily through community efforts, fundraising, grants, and the Fund 80 community levy — consistent with the building being designated for community programs.
Yet the survey completely omits the responsible “keep the current $300,000 Fund 80 levy with no increase” option (paired with creating an endowment fund) and sidelines the other practical ideas discussed.
This creates a misleading, slanted picture that appears designed to steer the community toward either a massive tax burden most will reject or closure/sale — rather than presenting balanced, sustainable solutions that honor the Task Force process and the pool’s original community-focused intent. (Note: Selling or closing the pool would not decrease taxes — the money would simply be redirected to other district priorities.)
The Task Force was created to include school board members, former aquatic board members, foundation representatives, the mayor of the city, the chairman of the county, and a representative from the Antigo Swim Club to find real solutions in the best interest of the Aquatic Center and our community. This survey does not do that.
If you care about keeping swimming affordable and accessible for our kids, Swim Club athletes, lessons, recreation, and the entire community, please do not take the survey. Instead:
✅ Contact your school board members directly and tell them the three options are insufficient and do not reflect the full Task Force discussions or the April 13 proposals.
✅ Specifically request that the “keep the current $300,000 Fund 80 levy with no increase” option — along with creating an endowment fund and the other missing ideas — be added and seriously considered.
✅ Insist on a transparent process that actually respects the Task Force and the 1999 resolution.
✅ Go to the school board meeting on Monday, April 20, 2026 where this will be discussed and possibly decided on.
We believe this flawed survey does more harm than good by presenting a distorted picture of the options available.
We strongly encourage everyone to show up strong at the school board meeting on Monday, April 20, 2026. Your presence and voices will make a real difference in pushing for a fair process and the best outcome for the Aquatic Center.
Please share this post widely with fellow families, swimmers, and community members. The more informed voices we have pushing for fairness, the better the outcome for our pool.
Thank you for standing with the Antigo Swim Club and for fighting for the future of the Aquatic Center.
