Prince William County citizens are letting the School Division know how they feel about installing a pool in the 12th high school. There are currently three online petitions circulating: one in favor of a school pool and two opposed.
A group of parents and coaches calling themselves the “Swimming Community of Prince William County" created a Facebook petition in favor of the pool entitled “High School #12 Swimming Pool Support.” It was created on Mar. 5 and had 373 signature at the time of publication.
It states, “The new swimming pool will serve thousands of students and residents in Prince William County and will be cost neutral. The educational benefits of this new pool go beyond the dismissal bell and will promote healthy lifestyles.”
Those signing the petition say the swimming pool is a “dire” need for students due to the popularity of swimming in the county. Signers of the petition also argue that swimming is a way for people to stay fit and healthy throughout their lives, and that Prince William swimmers need the pool to remain competitive in their sport.
However, while the petition describes the pool as “cost neutral,” there is little data to support that claim. In a Washington Post article, Freedom Center General Manager Ron L. Carmichael said a 110,000 square-foot center would cost $45 million to build today and an additional $1.2 million annually to maintain. However, county employee Jason Grant explained building a pool facility in conjunction with another facility, like a school, would greatly reduce the cost to the county.
In response to the pro-pool petition, two opposing petitions have also been created via iPetitions. The first petition opposed to the building of the pool is called “Parents and Educators Say NO POOL in the 12th High School." The petition, which has received 49 signatures to date, describes the pool as a “luxury” that should not be funded at a time of budget shortfalls when, “class size continues to be an issue,” and additional cuts will need to be made to the superintendent’s budget.
It states, “While information about the actual cost of the pool has not been publicly released, the most recent estimates indicated by a PWCS official is that the new pool would cost approximately "$10,530,000.00 for the proposed pool at 12th HS."
Though the petition was originated by politically involved educators, it quickly gained momentum with both educators and parents. Commenters supported the general idea that school funds should be used to reduce class sizes. Those who spoke about the pool said it was the responsibility of the Parks Department to fund through the Board of County Supervisors portion of revenue-sharing tax funds.
A second anti-pool iPetition entitled, “Reduce class sizes, No pools in schools," was created by involved parents and has received 139 signatures, (although some of the same people signed both anti-pool petitions.) It reads, “PWCS is in the business of education, not parks and recreation.” The petition also includes a quote from Superintendent Steven Walts, stating, “Our budgets have already been cut to the bone.” *
The petition further asserts Virginia schools could save money by eliminating some of its non-teaching staff and distributing those funds back to educators. However, Prince William County Schools has always claimed to be efficient with its administrative work force, requiring in some cases one staff member to do the work of three provided in other districts of similar demographics.
Lastly, the petition references a 2006 a county referendum, approved by 76 percent of voters passed to allocate millions in funding towards the expansion of the Chinn Aquatics and Fitness Center in Lake Ridge.
In response, Grant said that the expansion of the aquatic center was only listed as one possible consideration for which the park funds. No funds were specified for that project. Grant said Chinn could be expanded if that Board of County Supervisors decide based on community input; however, those lanes would be insufficient for the needs of the schools' varsity teams, nor enough swim lanes to serve the overall community.
Grant specified that the Board nor his office has yet taken a stance in regards to building the pool within the 12th high school. However, he said it would be worth having a county-wide discussion about what the schools should fund and if school fields and recreation facilities should be open to broader community use.
While most citizens would enjoy a community pool, comments on the anti-pool petitions point to the frustrations of parents and teachers who see class sizes grow every year with no end in sight.
In the comment section of the second anti-pool petition, one elementary school educator wrote that the school system has constantly asked her to “tighten her belt,” which has included purchasing her own supplies for her overcrowded class. Now, she is questioning how that the same school system can afford to build a pool at a high school.
*Superintendent Walts did not provide the quote for the purpose of the petition and has not taken a stance on including a pool in the 12th high school.
Support Bristow Beat - Donate Today!