By Robert Smith
Open Letter to the Culver City School Board Candidates
In the past eight weeks many questions have been asked from the public regarding the Natatorium.
The primary question: If elected, would you vote to renovate the pool if money were available from a bond measure?
The consensus has been that the cost to maintain the pool is prohibitive, that it takes money away from education. In addition, Culver Park High School needs a permanent home. It should be part of the main campus, so the Natatorium should be repurposed to house the Culver Park students.
The money from a bond that would be used to renovate the Natatorium should be used to repurpose the building.
In essence, the candidates’ response is, no, we will not vote to reopen the Natatorium based on what we know today..
We also have a subplot involving the Culver City Plunge. One candidate said the Plunge is available to the students. In other words, we already have a pool why do we need a second pool?
This second story line is framed as a question. Why reopen the Natatorium if we already have a pool?
Correction: No, CCUSD does not have a pool available for the student body. On a limited basis, the Plunge is available to the water polo team and the swim team.
Here are the numbers from USA Swimming to maintain a 10-lane, 25-yard pool:
• Annual maintenance cost for the pool only not the offices or lockers rooms is $141,120 for the pool only. Something is wrong if the cost is higher.
If the Natatorium were brought up to code to house the Culver Park students, the maintenance costs would have to be covered from the CCUSD operating budget. Either way, you will be paying for maintenance of the building. The only additional maintenance cost would be for the pool itself, $141,120 – HVAC, gas, water, electricity. These costs are not unique to the pool.
I ask the candidates:
• Is it worth $141,120a year to maintain the pool?
• Is it important to provide each student a complete education, which includes learning to swim at no additional cost?
The state Board of Education has imposed a requirement to teach students to swim – if a pool is available.
In addition…
If $141,120 is too much, will you vote to negotiate more time at The Plunge to meet the state requirements? Will you vote to meet your obligation and provide equal time for the 6,500 students in the School District?
Mr. Smith may be contacted at robert_smith@me.com
