BENSON -- The Benson School District expects to reopen its pool to the public today but will have to close it again this summer for more tests.
"We have more problems than what we thought," Superintendent Carl Remmers said.
The School District closed the pool earlier this year for testing and is considering $300,000 in repairs and upgrades.
The board decided to refill the pool last month so that the public can use it again. Since water has been put back in, there has been standing water in the basement under the northwest corner of the pool deck, said Richard Olson of the maintenance department. The depth has varied, Remmers said.
Olson said he is not sure whether the water is coming from the pool or groundwater. This part of the basement had been wet before, but "not this deep," Olson said.
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The Benson School Board decided last week to hire a contractor to find out where the water is coming from, Remmers said. The contractor will test the pool's concrete and determine how much chlorine has seeped into the basement, Remmers said. That would help determine where the standing water is coming from, he said.
If the concrete is bad, the district would have to consider building a new pool, he said.
"Before I put $300,000 into the pool, we need to make sure the concrete is in good shape," Remmers said.
The School Board hasn't decided whether it will make the $300,000 in repairs. Several residents have told the board they rely on the pool for indoor exercise in the winter. But other uses for the space have also been considered.
The district plans to empty the pool again in June for the concrete testing, which is expected to cost $3,000, Remmers said. The city of Benson runs an outdoor pool during the summer.
The district spent about $3,600 on the first tests, he said.
Also at its meeting last week, the School Board accepted a year-long leave of absence from elementary principal John Moorse. He plans to retire in the 2007-08 school year, Remmers said.
Moorse, 53, doesn't meet the age requirement, which is 55, to retire next school year. But after 30 years, Moorse said it's time to do something different. The leave of absence allows him to look at other options and "leaves the door open" to come back, Moorse said.
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He said he has not decided what he will do during his leave. He said deciding to retire is a tough decision.
"You just don't do something for 30 years and walk out the door," he said.
Moorse has been elementary principal since 1992. He started in the district teaching second grade, then became curriculum director and then assistant principal.
In other business, the board:
n Reorganized the boys and girls hockey associations. It is still called Morris Benson Association, but different schools will be participating next hockey season.
The boys team will have students from Morris, Benson and Ortonville. Hancock and MACCRAY no longer have students who want to play hockey.
The girls team will include students from Morris, Benson, Ortonville and Minnewaska Area. Hancock will no longer participate in the association.
n Approved the resignation of Loretta Burns. The first-grade teacher is retiring after 35 years.
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n Learned that the student council had been selected as one of 10 outstanding student councils in Minnesota.
