The Wigwam is a venerable building. Seating about 9,000 people, it’s the world’s second-largest high school basketball gym. It’s the home of not only great basketball games but famous speeches and other unforgettable events.
You walk into the building and it’s like walking into no other place in the world, combining the spirit of a historic gym with the eye-popping size of a cavernous arena.
In short, the Wigwam is an important part of our community’s history.
But the building is expensive to maintain, and the games it hosts are no longer the center of Anderson’s attention. Crowds never approach capacity, and there are almost always more empty seats than full ones.
Alas, the time has come for the building to be shuttered. Anderson Community Schools is facing a $2.4 million budget deficit this year. Dozens of teaching positions have already been cut, and several school buildings have been closed. Yet ACS officials must find a way to cut deeper.
In 2008, utilities at the Wigwam cost almost $350,000. That outlay could be diminished considerably by moving the programs — adult education, ROTC, preschool and alternative school — currently at the Wigwam complex to other, smaller, more efficient buildings. Then, prospectively, the money saved could be used to avoid making further cuts in educational programming.
At the same ACS board meeting this month where Superintendent Felix Chow recommended closing the Wigwam and offering it for sale, he also proposed the elimination of 82 paid positions, including 65 teachers. Both recommendations await board approval, which could come in March.
While it’s sad to see the Anderson Indians basketball team moved from its historic home, the Wigwam’s spaciousness has become an indefensible luxury in an era of austerity. It’s simply become too difficult to justify keeping the structure active when teachers and programs that benefit students are called to the chopping block.
But this step shouldn’t be the end of the Wigwam. If it is mothballed responsibly, the structure stands at the ready for potential historical or economic development uses.
Editorials
Editorial: Sadly, the time to shutter the Wigwam has come
- Editorials
-
-
Editorial: Battery production a positive sign
The production locally of a battery powering a vehicle that has been dubbed the “bus of tomorrow” signals to others that Anderson is still a viable player in the auto industry. Having Altair Nanotechnologies located here is a good sign for Anderson’s future.
-
Editorial: Cleveland crimes could happen anywhere
Neighbors are in the best position to see something amiss so that grotesque crimes, such as those revealed in Cleveland, won’t take away a decade of life from someone else.
-
Editorial: AU softball team did university, community proud
During the Anderson University softball team's run to the final eight in the NCAA Division III tournament, the Ravens played quality softball with high-quality individuals, and they did it while brandishing the Anderson name. Whenever the city is associated with high-quality and successful people, it’s always a positive accomplishment.
-
You Said It: About the wheel tax, Ravens softball and cold beer sales
Each Monday, The Herald Bulletin publishes “You Said It,” a compilation of reader comments from www.theheraldbulletin.com coupled with responses by the newspaper’s editorial board.
-
Our View: New state law should help get grads college ready
Graduation from high school can be a hollow achievement for those who haven’t truly mastered the skills and subject matter to prepare themselves well for higher education.
-
Government seizure of AP records violates First Amendment spirit
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to a higher level with the disclosure that the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
Editorial: Sonny Ray’s area needs close scrutiny
This is a serious situation at Sonny Ray’s Bar. Three shootings in a month? That’s out of hand.
-
Arrest Log: May 16
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Tuesday and Wednesday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Editorial: New bridge would be great for city
It would be nice if the county can get its hands on the $15 million federal grant to replace the Eisenhower Bridge on Eighth Street. This iconic bridge and entryway into the city from the Park Place and Anderson University area is overdue for an update.
-
Editorial: Schools take major strides in third-grade reading
The ability to read and comprehend is the foundation of most other learning, and studies have shown that third grade is the make-or-break point for many students.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Editorial: Battery production a positive sign
