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After Referendum, Prior Lake Gymnasts, Families Petition For More Space

By Tom Schardin, 04/14/18, 8:30PM CDT

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Members of the Prior Lake gymnastics program are petitioning for more space.

In November, voters in the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District approved both a $109.3 million bond referendum and a $250-per-pupil increase in the 10-year operating levy.

Included in the bond referendum was $46.8 million for additions at Prior Lake High School, including a new physical education activity center with four courts. The Laker gymnastics team was hoping that would allow it to move out of Twin Oaks Middle School and into the high school.

However, that’s not the plan, at least not at this point.

The petition

The team’s petition states:

“We were recently informed we will no longer be getting a new gym space and our allotted space at Twin Oaks is being cut down in the offseason. In case you aren’t aware, gymnastics is a year-round sport. Without this space, we lose that practice time. ... We’ve sent individual gymnasts to state every year and we have a really good chance at making it to state as a team in the next few years. This would really prove our hard work is all worth it, and solidify us as a real competitor in high school gymnastics.”

The online petition had 525 signatures as of April 11, with a goal of 1,000.

Prior Lake Athletic Director Russ Reetz said the school is still finalizing plans for the new additions to the high school, which would take place at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

“Once completed, the design concepts will be brought to the school board for approval,” Reetz said. “It has always been the district’s intention to ensure there is a dedicated space for gymnastics that is safe and has enough seating for spectators.

“We believe the best option for the gymnastics program is to retain the space they currently have at Twin Oaks from November to March during their competitive season,” he added. “We are working with the gymnastics community to communicate this information.”

The Prior Lake-Savage Area School District has seen tremendous growth over the years, but Reetz said there were no promises made for “specific gymnastic space placement during the 2017 referendum campaign.”

The discussion to move the team to the high school did take place during the planning phase, which included a six-court indoor facility, in a proposed referendum plan in May 2016. But that failed. The levy that passed this past November was for four additional courts with limited seating.

The Prior Lake dance and cheer teams are scheduled to get new spaces at the high school. Those two programs also have their invites and competitions in the school’s main gym. The gymnastics team’s dual competitions and practices have always been at Twin Oaks.

Limits to access

Each spring, the gymnastics equipment is taken down and stored to allow spring sports teams like softball, baseball and tennis a place to practice when the weather is not conducive to go outside. That’s definitely been the case this spring, with winter holding on strong into April.

The equipment goes back up for the summer. Laker coaches are allowed to work with athletes during the summer waiver period from June 1 to July 31. Gymnasts have had the equipment available in the fall in the past, but that is also a no-contact period for coaches and athletes. Only non-Prior Lake High School coaches can work with athletes during that time.

‘A disservice’

The gymnasts want a year-round facility so they can better compete and grow the program. Prior Lake has had at least one gymnast at the Class AA state competition for seven straight years. The Lakers were there as a team in 2013, finishing seventh.

The Lakers had just two seniors on the team this past season with 19 sophomores or younger, so the program’s future looks bright. A year-round space can only enhance that.

“Cutting the gym space for these athletes would be a disservice to our community,” Angie Klugherz wrote in the comments section of the petition. “If you look at the schools in the area that are comparable in size they all have thriving programs because they have dedicated space. Don’t take away these opportunities for so many girls for years and years to come.”

Klugherz’ daughter, Lexi, was an eighth-grade gymnast for the Lakers this past season.

“These young girls have been involved in gymnastics for years practicing year-round and improving their skills to much cost and time to their families,” wrote Denise Walter, whose ninth-grade daughter Hannah was on the team this past season. “This has been a goal for them to participate at varsity level for Prior Lake. Without a practice facility year-round, it will be difficult to complete at the level they have worked so hard to achieve.”

Prior Lake has fought space issues for the last five years or more. The school district is growing fast — it’s No. 7 in the state in enrollment, according to the Minnesota State High School League — so finding space for all of its teams, including intramural programs, is not easy.

This past winter, Prior Lake had nine levels of basketball (108 athletes) and 220 kids in intramural sharing gym space. There are five levels of dance and three levels of cheer, along with multiple levels of wrestling, which has its own wrestling room.

“We highly value all of our sports and activities at Prior Lake and are working hard to support all of our students with the spaces they need,” Reetz said.