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Some discontent is simmering over Gladstone’s natatorium.

During an April 14 North Kansas City Schools Board of Education meeting, several parents of high school swim team members expressed concern about the natatorium’s financial and operation partnership between the school district and city.

The competitive swimming facility is run in part with $650,000 from North Kansas City Schools spent annually through 2028. In return, swim teams from the school district’s four high schools get certain rights to use the city-owned pool and community center.

But the parents at the board meeting said they felt like the district wasn’t getting a fair deal from the city.

“Bottom line, we want the district to get their money’s worth out,” said parent Ken Powers.

When the natatorium partnership was announced by school district and Gladstone officials in 2007, parents thought that the high school swim teams would get preference in the facility, Powers said. Instead, they’ve been disappointed by restrictive rules and schedules.

The city owns the natatorium, but the district does have the right to purchase half the facility after 10 years, according to the partnership between Gladstone and North Kansas City Schools.

The money spent by the school district for use of the natatorium is just a small portion of the roughly $2.8 million it takes to pay for the facility every year, Chief Financial Officer Paul Harrell said.

The district reached its bonding capacity in 2005, Harrell said, and the natatorium would have been impossible without Gladstone’s help.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome, because the taxpayers of the community received a superior facility that would not have been possible otherwise,” Harrell said.

Daily operations of the pool are guided by a “memo of understanding” between the city and the school district. The memo lays out when the high school teams can practice, who is allowed into the natatorium, the responsibilities of the team and the facility staff and other rules.

Several of the complaints voiced by the parents seem to revolve around the perception of a double standard between the treatment of school teams and club teams.

Unlike the high school swimmers, club teams aren’t expected to do things such as stow lane line markers and cover starting blocks, according to parent Karen Bruscato. She also complained that staff didn’t allow parents into the natatorium during practices and the swimmers were forced to practice early in the morning even during winter break.

“Instead of the Gladstone community center being a little flexible with scheduling, they still made them attend their 5:30 a.m. practice during winter break, when the pool was available for later practice times,” Bruscato said.

The guidelines in the memo of understanding were requested by the high school swim team coaches, according to school district Director of Activities John Spotts. The coaches asked for the 5:30 a.m. practice time so that their teams could swim together again in the afternoon, he said.

“Gladstone has told them they can come in any time they want,” Spotts said.

Prep sports athletes are always expected to clean up after practices, Spotts said. It’s also common for coaches to bar parents from team practices.

School district and city staff meet often to review and adjust the natatorium rules and schedule, according to Gladstone spokesman Richard King. The high school teams take top priority, he said.

“We’re going to support whatever the coaches want, because they’re our partners,” King said.

After one year, the partnership between Gladstone and the school district has proven to be very positive for both organizations, Spotts and Harrell said.

“From an interscholastic perspective, it was great,” Spotts said.

Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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