The Woodbury boys swim team broke the school’s record in the 200-medley relay during a meet on alumni night this month, with two of the previous record holders watching from the stands.
Pool closures ripple across South Washington County school district
The growing east metro district plans to close 2 pools, including Woodbury High’s, as it weighs budget constraints, swim team needs and crowded buildings.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 22, 2025 at 2:00PM
“That was a pretty cool experience,” coach Connor Ross said.
And it may be the last record to fall in the high school’s pool.
The pool that’s been home to the district’s fastest swimmers for some 50 years is slated to close permanently at the end of this season to make way for an expansion of the school’s kitchen and cafeteria. It’s one of a series of changes coming for Woodbury pools that have long been forecast by the school district as it deals with a space crunch and limited money for maintenance.
The Woodbury High School pool will close forever in March and a second pool at Woodbury Middle School that’s been shuttered for several years will be closed permanently. Meanwhile, the Community Pool in St. Paul Park (adjacent to Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion) that’s been closed will reopen by April 1.
The moves come as the South Washington County school district wrestles with budget constraints, crowded schools and swim team needs. In addition to Woodbury High, the growing east metro district includes East Ridge and Park high schools, which each have swim teams.
The decisions come several years after a failed bond referendum in August 2022, when voters overwhelmingly said “no” to a $463 million referendum that was one of the largest ever at the time. A smaller referendum passed in November 2023.
It’s not clear if passage would have saved the pools, said school district spokesperson Shawn Hogendorf, but after the first referendum failed, the district reset priorities and opted to close the Woodbury Middle School and high school pools. Some of the money approved in 2023 will be used to convert the Woodbury High School pool into much-needed kitchen and cafeteria space.
When the shuffle is all over, the district says, everyone who has access to a pool now will have access in the future.
“There will not be any cuts to our swimming programs, and all of our swim teams will have a space to practice and compete,” read a statement mailed to parents. The Community Pool will be available for community education classes and to other renters, the district statement added.
After the closures at the end of the swim season, the district will have four pool locations: Oltman Middle School in Cottage Grove, Lake Middle School in Woodbury, Cottage Grove Middle School and the Community Pool in St. Paul Park.
Pool renovation needs piled up
The closures come due to an extensive list of renovation needs at each pool. The six-lane Woodbury Middle School pool has not been in operation for several years and needs a total reconstruction of its main drain and replacements of its filter and boiler. The successful 2023 referendum included $4.4 million to convert the pool into educational space. Restoring the pool and building a 7,750-square-foot addition for educational space could have cost $11.5 million, according to the district.
The Woodbury High School pool, meanwhile, would need reconstruction of its main drain, the pool deck and the replacement of the HVAC unit. The pool’s roof also needed to be redone, Hogendorf said.
It would have cost $3.75 million to restore the pool and up to $3 million more for the additional square footage to accommodate the cafeteria and kitchen.
Coach Ross said he and other swim team coaches are working on schedules for next season with the new pool arrangements.
“We’ve known for a couple of years now” that the pools would be closing, he added. The team, and the team from East Ridge, will practice at Lake Middle School in Woodbury and hold their meets at Oltman Middle School in Cottage Grove.
“It’s one of those things that will be tough with the adjustment, but we’re not the only team that does this,” he said.
Ross said he’s not surprised by the move given the pool’s age and the cost of repairs.
The boys who earlier this month set a new record — Grant McElwain, Andrew Qing, Raymond Webb and Derek Stadheim — may be the last to do so at the Woodbury High School pool: The team has its last home meet there against Stillwater on Feb. 6.
The “Bad Boys” franchise star is on a nationwide comedy tour.
