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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA central Indiana school district facing budget woes is closing the doors on the world's second-largest high school basketball venue.
The Anderson School Board voted 6-1 Tuesday to shutter the 9,000-seat Wigwam gym complex at the end of current school year as part of a wider budget-cutting plan that includes cutting 65 teachers' jobs.
The Herald Bulletin reports that school board member Keith Millikan told about 200 people who filled the Anderson High School auditorium for Tuesday's meeting that the Wigwam's closure could have been avoided in November if voters had not rejected a referendum giving the school district a tax rate hike.
The Wigwam was built in 1962 on Anderson High School's campus. It's the world's second-largest high school basketball venue, ranked behind the Fieldhouse in New Castle.
But the aging structure, which was mostly recently renovated in 2002, is also a drain on the Anderson Community Schools' budget. The district paid nearly $350,000 in utility bills for the gym in 2008, while it generated less than $8,000 from events, including a campaign stop by Hillary Rodham Clinton that attracted more than 6,000 people.
School officials have discussed closing the Wigwam before, but never received board approval. Supporters see the gym as a rich trove of Indiana basketball lore, and the gym even has its own fan website.
Closing the Wigwam is just part of the five-year plan unveiled last month. It also includes cutting 82 jobs including 65 teacher positions, introducing all-day kindergarten and basing grade promotions on students' competence.
The plan is designed to meet school board goals that include eliminating the district's budget deficit by 2015.
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