La Crosse school district and city explore indoor pool partnership; superintendent cites potential referendum and $30M+ estimate

Members of a school–city pool collaboration committee updated the Board of Park Commissioners on March 19 about plans to explore an indoor pool on La Crosse’s North Side and options for funding and management.

Aaron Engel, superintendent for the La Crosse School District, said the current city pool is closed for the coming summer and the district’s pool has mechanical and depth limitations that make continued reliance on existing facilities impractical. Engel said the two logical sites under consideration are the Logan High School location and the existing North Side community pool site at Logan (the committee assessed Logan Middle School as the better access site for daily community use).

On design, Engel said the preferred concept would include two distinct pool basins: an eight‑lane competitive pool with spectator seating and an adjacent zero‑entry recreational side offering slides and family‑oriented amenities. That layout, he said, would allow lap swimming and open recreational swim simultaneously.

Engel addressed funding and process: he said building a new indoor pool could cost ‘probably a little in excess of $30,000,000’ and that pursuing a referendum through the school district could be an appropriate funding mechanism because the district’s geographic reach extends beyond city limits. Engel said the next steps include surveying community interest, pursuing local community information sessions and seeking support from elected bodies if the survey indicates sufficient backing.

Commissioners raised scheduling and operational questions, including coordination with the YMCA to provide lifeguard and pool‑operation expertise, possible cost‑sharing through Fund 80 and how scheduling would balance school, YMCA and city uses. Engel said detailed public meetings and intergovernmental discussions would follow any positive survey results.