CHEYENNE - The state will not pay for new swimming pools for Wyoming high schools, but will allow up to $200,000 for minor capital construction to fix up existing pools, the School Facilities Commission decided Friday.

The commission essentially decided that new swimming pools are not part of the "basket of education goods" the Wyoming Supreme Court required the state to pay for in its landmark school finance reform decisions.

Commission members have been struggling to determine where pools, tracks and auditoriums fit into the state's responsibility to provide adequate school facilities for Wyoming's K-12 students when faced with school capital construction needs of anywhere from $600 million to $1 billion or more over the next six years.

SFC member Bruce Perryman noted the school districts requested $14.5 million through their five-year plans for all-weather tracks, football and soccer fields.

SFC member Jeff Marsh said all the commission members would like to give kids the best swimming pools, tracks and other facilities possible if the state had enough resources.

"But we don't," Marsh said.

"It seems to me we ought to teach children to swim," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Trent Blankenship.

But Blankenship said he could go along with the commission majority's position of refusing to pay for new swimming pools as long as the schools have money to keep existing pools from deteriorating.

Blankenship made the motion to allow the schools to request up to $200,000 in state money for minor capital construction of swimming pools.

Those requests for SFC approval of the money must follow commission design guidelines.

School districts can pay for swimming pool maintenance out of their block grant from the state, commission members said.

The commission decided to leave auditoriums and all-weather tracks in the state-financed basket of goods, at least for now. The group will take a final vote later on the design guidelines, after the public review period ends.

The members adopted a motion to allow state spending for auditoriums in high schools of 200 or more students. The SFC also voted to allow school districts with fewer than 200 high schools students to request an all-weather track at one location. This will give high schools in districts with more than one high school the opportunity to have a track, said SFC Chairman Gregg Olson.

James "Bubba" Shivler, SFC director, noted that a new all-weather rubber track costs $500,000.

Last month, Gov. Dave Freudenthal gave the SFC members and the Legislature's Select Committee on School Facilities a pep talk on the need to keep the focus of the school capital construction program in context so it does not jeopardize money for the academic side.

He also said that communities, which for years passed school bond issues to build facilities for the entire community, will have to find other resources for community projects.

The new school capital construction program sets square footage guidelines for schools based on a school's population.

Shivler said the commission will get the final edition of five-year plans from all 48 schools districts at its meeting in October.

Some of the districts, he said, have some "severely underpopulated" schools, which will mean closing those schools.

Shivler said four teams from MGT, the state's construction consultant, will be inspecting schools statewide from now until Sept. 19.

The team members began with Laramie County School District No. 1, Cheyenne, because of its size, and will be inspecting Casper schools next week, Shivler said.