The Springfield-Greene County Park Board says it's had to make multiple cuts because of the city spending reductions. The cuts from the parks department equal $815,000, and the Director of the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department says pools are just one area that suffers.

The pools were packed this weekend but, if you head to any of Springfield's public pools Monday through Wednesday, you'll find them padlocked and vacant.

"We came out earlier in the week and found out they were closed. I walked all the way over to see what the sign said. So they were sad they had to wait all week," said Michelle Bash, a mother.

The pools are only open Thursday through Sunday this summer, because of the city's cuts from normal spending so it can make a required payment to the police and firefighters pension fund. So Bash's boys couldn't wait to get in the water.

"They were excited. They called it water fun day when they heard we were coming," Bash said.

The parks department had to cut many part-time and temporary positions as well as hours because of the $815,000 reduction. Jodie Adams, the director of parks, says the pool fees of $2 to $2.50 don't even come close to paying for the cost of operating city pools, and much of the rest of the cost is covered by subsidies.

"You're going to only probably recover anywhere from 40 to maybe 50 percent of the costs. You're always going to be subsidized," said Adams.

She says, even if the department raised admission charges, it still wouldn't help much, and it would defeat its goal of keeping pools low cost.

"We keep our pools very minimal in cost for the whole community- for everyone to be able to go to the pools," Adams said.

With Springfield pools closed Monday through Wednesday, folks will have to find another way to keep cool, like the fountains at Jordan Valley Park, or they can pay a daily fee at the Chesterfield indoor aquatic center. So while kids crowd into what water is available, the park board hopes the cuts won't last forever.

"We've been able to go out and get a lot of grants and sponsorship, and we're going to do everything we can to put that right back into the programs," said Adams.

The park board also had to cut temporary and part time staff for maintenance, zoo staff, and it's also reducing hours on the Mediacom Ice Park. It won't open until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, starting in July, but will have longer hours on weekends.