Politics & Government

School District May Take Over Some Recreation Programs

The Common Council put the brakes on a proposal which calls for the school district to take over rec programs held in school gyms and the high school pool.

The Oak Creek-Franklin School District would take over operations of city recreation programs held in school gyms or the high school pool, under a proposal that was met with resistance from the Oak Creek Common Council. 

According to a report to council members, the school district expressed interest in conducting those programs because of difficulties in coordinating community groups' use of the facilities and the city's recreation schedule. 

The school district scheduling those programs seemed to allow for the best use of those facilities, City Administrator Gerald Peterson wrote in the report. 

However, the council opted to send the proposal to the Park, Recreation & Forestry Commission for further review and a recommendation before making a decision.

Two members of the commission, Alderman Dan Bukiewicz and chairwoman Janet Fluegel, were troubled by the proposal and criticized the city for attempting to bypass the commission. 

Fluegel said she did not believe the school district would do a good job running those programs, which include swimming, basketball and others. 

Programs held in other venues, such as ball fields or St. John's School, would still be run by the city recreation department.

Financially, the proposal is about a wash. The city would lose about $82,000 in revenue from fees, but eliminate $70,000 in personnel costs and receive about $11,000 in storm water fees and $16,000 in garbage fees, which under the previous agreement were waived. 

The city is not proposing to reduce positions in the recreation department as a result of this move, Peterson said. The staffing reductions proposed would be specific to the programs (instructors, for example). 

The proposal will likely be reviewed by the Park, Recreation & Forestry Commission sometime before the council's next meeting on July 16.


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