The Austin Public Schools board preliminarily approved renaming the Ellis Middle School pool after former swimming coach Albert “Bud” Higgins. Board members have twice delayed naming the pool after Higgins, a Minnesota Swimming Hall of Famer; Once last fall as the board was discussing a district naming policy for the new fifth- and sixth-grade intermediate school, and again earlier this month after realizing the pool renaming didn’t follow the district’s policy.

Since then, board members have received 100 signatures from the community in favor of renaming the pool, and went ahead with the motion. The board will wait 90 days per the district’s naming policy before officially renaming the pool.