Swim team agreement nearly completed
News editor
Marion USD 408 Board of Education voted to refine a proposed agreement for Tabor College to use the district’s sports and aquatic center for a new swim team.
The agreement presented Monday calls for Tabor to pay the district $150 for any week it uses the pool, unless the team exceeds 20 swimmers, in which case it would pay $175 for a week’s use. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics rules allow a team to practice up to 24 weeks, so the likely maximum would be $3,600 a year, or $4,200 for a large team.
The college would be responsible for providing lifeguards during its practices and maintaining liability insurance for the team. The swim team coach and pool manager — or other district representative — would work together to schedule practices to avoid conflict with other pool uses, such as lap swimming and water aerobics.
The draft of the agreement says there would be two to five practices a week. Weekday practices would typically be 1½ to 2 hours, and weekend practices would be 3 hours. Tabor requested a five-year term to the agreement, which the school board supported.
Superintendent Lee Leiker said he thought the agreement should include a separate fee for any swim meets the college has at the pool. The board voted for Leiker to negotiate that with the college before bringing the agreement back for a final decision.
Coach, wife give uniforms
Kelly and Susan Robson donated new uniforms for the high school girls’ basketball team, which Kelly coaches.
He said the team’s current uniforms were getting old, although they were far from falling apart. As part of cost-cutting measures, the district has pushed back uniform replacements.
The donation will be 15 sets of home and road jerseys with shorts. It will be enough for the varsity, while the older jerseys will be handed down to junior varsity.
Robson did not want to say how much the uniforms will cost.
Golf agreement possible
Leiker said he and Peabody-Burns Superintendent Ron Traxson have discussed the possibility of having a shared golf team for the two schools. Such a team would likely practice in Marion; Peabody-Burns has practiced in Newton in the past.
With a Marion meet, a Peabody-Burns meet, and half of the Marion County Invitational, the team could have up to three tournaments in Marion.
The school board had earlier approved cutting golf to save money. If it is reinstated, the district could charge team members a small fee to reduce the district’s cost.
In other business:
- The board asked Leiker to ask about purchasing the Saddle Club, where the district stores a variety of equipment. The lease agreement is up for renewal for $3,600.
- The board met in closed session for 20 minutes to discuss personnel. No action was taken on return to open session.
- Elementary school custodian Laura Hasenbank resigned. She had been at the school about one year.