Imagine it is the summer of 2010, and looking for something fun to do with your friends you decide to go to the pool located at your high school and spend a couple of hours swimming or sunbathing. Students around you socialize and you can feel the summer energy around you, while also anticipating the exciting school year to come. 

Flash forward 12 years, and the area where the pool used to be is now out of order and being used as a storage space. The area that was previously a sunbathing platform connected to the pool room has since been converted into batting cages for baseball and softball. It has been said on various occasions that funding those twelve to thirteen years ago was simply not enough to keep up with the pool area and it had to be shut down. There have been auctions for some of the materials in the pool room but it was not enough to get rid of the surplus amount of objects sitting in there. Some materials in the area are not able to be sent out however, because they come from grants. Many of the materials in there are school supplies that are being repurposed for further use throughout the schools. 

“We continue to find homes for the repaired items. We upgrade items that are in the pool area. We build and fabricate many items from our pool stock,” the director of building and grounds Gary Mortimer said. 

Some people have concerns about why this area has not been repurposed for classroom space or something else along those lines. However, this comes down to money costs for building repairs and facility upgrading plans. 

“Well, since closing the pool, the school administration and the board of directors have discussed the repurposing of the pool area. Currently, the school has a contract with Smart Building Works, a firm to provide facility upgrading plans,” Mortimer said. “So they’re kinda coming out and providing us with maybe a plan of what to do with the space, what would be more feasible to do with the space.” 

Getting to the baseline of why this area is being used as storage also comes down to the fact that the whole school is lacking in storage space. Empty classrooms and the former pool area are both being used as storage space due to the surplus of materials and not enough space to put all of these materials to use. While maintenance staff tries to get through the area annually, the area has been rekeyed in order to keep students out of the process for liability reasons. 

While some students may not even have a clue that this pool area exists, some teachers that were here when it was open have hoped that it will be put to a use that benefits the students. Possibilities for the room are endless, but money may prohibit some instances from taking place. The bottom line is that this isn’t a case of just one renovation in one area but in the future renovation of the entire school. With events that have happened recently in the high school, like heater problems and bathroom flooding among other things, it has become evident that a district-wide facility plan is needed. 

“ I think [the pool area] would be a vital tool in the construction of the building and renovation of the building, and then whatever they decide to do with it after the fact, it would then be the final key,” Mortimer explained.