Diving in: Sault Tribe partners with Rudyard Area Schools to keep pool open
RUDYARD — The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Rudyard Area Schools are partnering together to fund the school's pool.
With a lack of public pools in the Chippewa County area and the importance of the Rudyard pool for physical education classes, the school district began looking for funding partners to help keep it open.
"We're committed to keeping our pool open, but because of our financial constraints, it's something that's always on the chopping block," said Rudyard Superintendent Thomas McKee. "With the Sault Tribe we can rest assured that the pool will stay open another 10 years at least."
The pool is over 50 years old, and maintenance costs have only increased over the years as the pool sees regular use from the community and students.
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One reason why Rudyard Area Schools is committed to keeping the pool open is because of the high number of drowning deaths reported in tribal communities and among autistic students.
"Drowning deaths are one of the leading causes of unexpected death in kids, and it continues to increase in Michigan since the pandemic has begun," said McKee. "I think this is going to give another generation of kids the chance to learn to swim and protect themselves, which is important in an area where most people live a 10-minute drive from a big body of water."
The Sault Tribe was happy to help alleviate the pool's funding concerns, as the tribe regularly uses part of its budget for community improvement projects.
"It's the place where a lot of the youth learn how to swim and Native Americans are disproportionately impacted by drowning. So this is a special project for us," said Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes.
The tribe will provide $30,000 for maintenance every year for the next 10 years to guarantee the pool stays in use. This will cover exactly half of the pool's costs, with Rudyard Area Schools providing the other half.
The pool will be open to the public, and will begin offering free swimming lessons to tribal members.
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Diving in: Sault Tribe partners with Rudyard Area Schools to keep pool open
