San Dieguito Pool Feasibility Committee    

The San Dieguito Union High School District has ten schools and serves over 13,000 students and is located in the northern coastal region of San Diego County. There is a well known pool shortage in the area, and numerous aquatic programs need more pool space to start or build their programs. There also exists certain aquatic instructional needs under the CA Education Code and regulations, as well as the state's Model P.E. standards, which could be better implemented with greater access to pools.  Until May 2017, families paid the pool rental fees through their school foundations in order for student athletes to receive aquatic instruction and participate in CIF aquatic sports.

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Over the last 2 decades, there have been several efforts by families and community organizers to bring pools to our coastal school sites, but those efforts encountered resistance. In spring of 2015, in response to public comments by community members and parents, the SDUHSD Trustees agreed to work with a volunteer aquatic committee to explore the viability of pools for all high school sites with existing aquatic programs. A steering committee was formed to meet with district staff to ensure that the committee's mission and actions were respectful of existing district projects, especially Prop AA plans and other district priorities.  

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Since April 20, 2015, the committee members have reached out to local community partners, potential organizational users, and others to gather their input, gauge their interest and need, explore their concerns and establish ongoing and open channels of communication. (Thank you Encinitas Parks and Rec, San Dieguito Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA for your representatives' time spent meeting with us during our journey). All contributions such as architectural plans, website design, flyers and other services have been 100% donated by the volunteers serving on the aquatic exploration committee. Not a single person on the committee is paid.

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Members of the steering committee also met with school site leaders (coaches, athletic directors, and others) to gather the site leaders' input regarding site program needs and preferences. Additional meetings occurred with the district staff, which resulted in the creation of a master template.  Included in the working template were a  pool with depths to meet diving, swimming and water pool program needs, decking to meet CIF requirements, 2 classrooms and 2 coaching offices, 2 sets of locker rooms and restrooms, ticket and snack bar stand, and other compartments to house pool mechanical, electrical, maintenance and chemical components.  After further discussions and meetings, additional schematics were created for the campuses of:

 

• Canyon Crest Academy (CCA),

• La Costa Canyon High School (LCC),

• San Dieguito Academy (SDA), and

• Torrey Pines High School.

• Click here for Concept Designs

• Click here for the 2017 committee board presentation.  

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In May of 2016, committee members requested that pools be listed on the agenda, but were unsuccessful. After additional requests, in April 2017, the San Dieguito Pool Committee was finally allowed to present information on funding options, architectural designs, and speakers expressing an interest in collaborating with the district on pools (see, eg. Boys and Girls Club letter below). (Note: Section 35145.5 of the CA Education Code states that it "is the intent of the Legislature that members of the public be able to place matters directly related to school district business on the agenda of school district governing meetings."). The Board room was filled with families, athletes, community members and others, standing room only.

During this meeting, members of the committee also requested that the district assume payment of pool rental fees so that families would not have to pay for educational activities (i.e. the rental of pools for aquatic sports which students could earn PE credit for), which could present legal issues under Hartzell v. Connell. In Hartzell, the CA Supreme Court held that Article IV of the CA Constitution prohibits the imposition of fees as a condition for participating in "educational programs."

 

After this presentation, the Board agreed to assume the costs of the pool facilities (which runs around $100,000 a year), and to collaborate with the San Dieguito Pool Feasibility Committee to further explore the subject of school pools, an exciting development for the first time in this District. Over the next 3 years, there would be a series of delays, but on November 19, 2020, the Committee learned that a development study had been completed in August 2020 and that it was listed on the Board's agenda for presentation. 

 

The Committee did not participate in the creation of the report or have an opportunity to review it before its listing on the agenda to provide input, but the architectural firm presented the detailed report as Agenda Item No. 7. The Board engaged with the presenter to ask questions to learn more and asked questions about the pools possibly being built on the 22 acre Calle Barcelona property. Members of the public were not permitted by the Board to publicly comment on the agenda item to share information from their research and meetings with stakeholders, but the Committee remains hopeful that the District under new leadership will better embrace parental and community efforts to continue this discussion.

 

To see what other districts are doing, please click here for some examples of successful collaboration.

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