The debate over the Iowa City Community School District’s $14 million pledge to the Coralville competition pool has pitted two vital needs against each other: keeping our schools financially solvent versus keeping our kids safe in the water.
For months, the project has been unfairly labeled as an athletic luxury we can no longer afford. Critics argue that a district with only days of cash on hand to meet payroll should not be building a $54 million premier athletic facility. But this view profoundly misunderstands what our junior high and high school swim teams actually do.
For the hundreds of kids on these teams, the programs are not about college scholarships or varsity trophies. For more than half — especially at the junior high level — the school swim team is their very first introduction to deep water. In a community where private club lessons are a luxury many families cannot afford, ICCSD swim teams function as a vital, free water-safety and life-saving program. They are an equity initiative masquerading as a sport. Canceling the facility would cut off the only gateway these kids have to learning how to swim.
Yet, the district’s immediate financial crisis is terrifyingly real. With missing audits blocking traditional stabilization loans, the district must treat its Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) as an emergency “mini bank” to protect payroll and keep schools open. Writing a single $14 million check from our capital reserves today would severely threaten that fragile safety net.
Fortunately, we do not have to choose between financial ruin and letting a vital safety program drown. Several creative approaches could spread the cost over time, protect the district’s cash position, and still honor our pledge to Coralville.
One promising option is a long-term capital lease. Instead of a massive, upfront capital expenditure from our depleted PPEL fund, the school board could restructure our partnership with the city of Coralville into an annual lease agreement spread over the next 20 to 30 years. This is not the only path forward — phased contribution schedules, joint financing arrangements, or other structured payment vehicles may also deserve consideration — but a capital lease illustrates the kind of solution that can thread the needle.
Consider what this type of approach could accomplish:
We cannot borrow our way out of a structural deficit, and we cannot ignore the $7.5 million in painful budget cuts ahead. Hard choices must be made. But we do not need to sacrifice a generation of student safety to fix a short-term accounting crisis.
When the school board takes its final vote, members must reject the false choice between fiscal responsibility and community health. By exploring a capital lease or similar long-term financing structure for the Coralville pool, the board can protect the district’s bank account today while keeping the promise of a safe, life-saving education for our kids tomorrow.
Jon Landon is an Iowa City Community School District parent and swimming advocate.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City CSD can support pool without risking financial ruin | Opinion
Reporting by Jon Landon, Guest columnist / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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