With mounting repairs and a shrinking budget, Girard High School’s indoor pool could be treading water for the last time.

“We do not have the money to pay for the pool ourselves,” said School Board President Richard Brown during a recent Girard School Board workshop. Board members said they are “trying to stall everything” in a attempt to offset the district's cash flow crisis.

“It’s not severe yet, but it’s getting severe come October,” said Richard Brown. The pool, which was installed nearly 50 years ago, is showing its age. A few years ago, an engineer estimated the cost of needed renovations—an expense the district may no longer be able to afford.

“It was an estimate of 5 million dollars, and that was four years ago. It’s probably gone up significantly, and we would have to borrow that money—and with interest, it could be north of that,” said Richard Brown.

Despite the budget issues, board members emphasize the value of having students learn to swim, citing safety as a key concern.

“Fairview is working with us, so we could still have a swim team and go over there. But we won’t be able to teach swimming, which is something—we don’t want to close the pool down,” said Richard Brown.

The school board is now reaching out to state representatives for help in addressing this year’s budget.