Raw sewage in your basement because the school district emptied a pool without telling the city has got to be disgusting. Equally disgusting is watching school district personnel try to duck responsibility, another example of the accountability vacuum with Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools leadership.

Here’s the story as reported in the Prior Lake American: On July 23, the pool at Hidden Oaks Middle School was emptied into the sanitary sewer line without notification to the city. Because sewer line capacity was inadequate to handle the water load, raw sewage backed up into four homes.

In what seems to be an effort to duck responsibility, schools spokeswoman Kristi Mussman released a statement saying there was no written agreement between the city and district requiring notification. However, an internal document obtained from the district spelled out the requirement for district notification to the city before draining the pool.

The city subsequently drafted an agreement for consideration between the school district and city, but Superintendent Teri Staloch did not appear supportive. She reportedly raised questions about whether private swimming pool owners would be required to have the same agreement and expressed concern that “it starts us down a path of having lots of written agreements.”

The district’s position seems to be that they don’t have to notify the city of plans to drain their pool because there is no written agreement to do so, but they don’t want a written agreement. In other words, the district apparently wants nothing in writing that might make them accountable for consequences of their mistakes.

After the failure by the school district to act responsibly, our City Council did by initiating an ordinance that will require the district to get a permit to drain their pool. After the council vote, it’s reported that Mussman wrote in a statement that the district supports the city’s desire to “create consistent standards for the betterment of all residents.” I’m not sure what that means, but I’m certain it made those with raw sewage in their basements feel better.

Ernie Peacock

Prior Lake