OJR parents propose portable pool
By Laura Catalano, Special to The Mercury
SOUTH COVENTRY — A temporary, inflatable pool with a heated, covered dome could provide the Owen J. Roberts School District with a swim program while the middle school is being renovated.
At least, that was the proposal set forth by the district’s pool committee at a school board buildings and grounds committee meeting Monday night.
The pool committee, composed primarily of swim coaches and parents of swimmers, said a temporary pool would not only be feasible, but also affordable. They estimated the cost at around $100,000 to $150,000, and claimed the expense could be offset by summer swim programs that could yield as much as $40,000 each summer........
..........Zeleznick closed his presentation with a reference to Superintendent Myra Forrest’s emphasis on taking the district “from good to great.”
“Only one thing stands in the way of going from good to great, and that’s one word: impossible. We have an amazing thing in front of us. I challenge the school board to take that word away.”
Thursday, February 7, 2008
OJR Pool Proposal Can OJR go from Good to Great?
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Posted on Thu, Feb. 7, 2008
Team wants to stay afloat during work at school
An Owens J. Roberts group wants a temporary above-ground pool, enclosed in a bubble.
By Don Beideman
Inquirer Staff Writer
Residents who are fighting to keep a community age-group swim program afloat in the Owen J. Roberts School District want to erect a temporary above-ground pool, enclosed by a bubble, to use while the existing pool is closed for school renovations.
The renovations are expected to close the middle school, which houses the district swimming pool, for nearly two years, starting after the spring semester. The pool is used by the high school teams, physical education classes and community groups, including seniors. The students displaced by the construction would be housed in the elementary schools and high school.
Monday night, the community pool group presented its plan for the temporary above-ground pool and all-weather bubble to enclose it to the school board's building and grounds committee. The estimated cost for the bubble and pool, which would be placed on a parking lot near the high school, is $150,000.
School board president John Dutton said the committee was receptive to the proposal but asked the group to come back March 3 with firm costs.
The school board previously indicated that it did not want to phase in the middle-school construction in order to keep the pool open, citing additional cost for the $91 million project.
"We had some dialogue over everything they proposed," Dutton said after Monday's meeting. "The community has known since April 2005 about the construction. The high school swimming team is being looked after."
Although Dutton said the swim teams would be taken care of, no commitment has been made on where they would practice.
Mark Zeleznick, who made Monday night's presentation to the board committee, said the group was simply trying to present the school board with as many options as possible.
The pool and bubble setup has been used by other schools and colleges under similar circumstances.
"The age-group swim program has a lot of participants," said Zeleznick, whose daughter Natalie is a member of the high school girls' team and serves as a lifeguard for the age-group, which serves youngsters up to 14. "What happens to the aquatics program if you shut it down for possibly two seasons?
"Why do that when you can keep it going [with the bubble and pool]?"
Zeleznick said he found an inflatable bubble for sale on eBay for $5,000. He also noted that Rutgers put in a membrane cover and pool for about $50,000.
The age-group organization has offered to put $17,000 toward the purchase of a pool and bubble. The money was initially set aside for buying pool time when the middle school renovations begin.
The group found pool time can be difficult to find. Owen J. Roberts and Coatesville are the only school districts with pools in Chester County. Other possibilities for leasing pool time would be an organization such as the YMCA or local colleges where demands for pool time are already high.
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Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 610-701-7613 or dbeideman@phillynews.com
Posted on Thu, Feb. 7, 2008
Team wants to stay afloat during work at school
An Owens J. Roberts group wants a temporary above-ground pool, enclosed in a bubble.
By Don Beideman
Inquirer Staff Writer
Residents who are fighting to keep a community age-group swim program afloat in the Owen J. Roberts School District want to erect a temporary above-ground pool, enclosed by a bubble, to use while the existing pool is closed for school renovations.
The renovations are expected to close the middle school, which houses the district swimming pool, for nearly two years, starting after the spring semester. The pool is used by the high school teams, physical education classes and community groups, including seniors. The students displaced by the construction would be housed in the elementary schools and high school.
Monday night, the community pool group presented its plan for the temporary above-ground pool and all-weather bubble to enclose it to the school board's building and grounds committee. The estimated cost for the bubble and pool, which would be placed on a parking lot near the high school, is $150,000.
School board president John Dutton said the committee was receptive to the proposal but asked the group to come back March 3 with firm costs.
The school board previously indicated that it did not want to phase in the middle-school construction in order to keep the pool open, citing additional cost for the $91 million project.
"We had some dialogue over everything they proposed," Dutton said after Monday's meeting. "The community has known since April 2005 about the construction. The high school swimming team is being looked after."
Although Dutton said the swim teams would be taken care of, no commitment has been made on where they would practice.
Mark Zeleznick, who made Monday night's presentation to the board committee, said the group was simply trying to present the school board with as many options as possible.
The pool and bubble setup has been used by other schools and colleges under similar circumstances.
"The age-group swim program has a lot of participants," said Zeleznick, whose daughter Natalie is a member of the high school girls' team and serves as a lifeguard for the age-group, which serves youngsters up to 14. "What happens to the aquatics program if you shut it down for possibly two seasons?
"Why do that when you can keep it going [with the bubble and pool]?"
Zeleznick said he found an inflatable bubble for sale on eBay for $5,000. He also noted that Rutgers put in a membrane cover and pool for about $50,000.
The age-group organization has offered to put $17,000 toward the purchase of a pool and bubble. The money was initially set aside for buying pool time when the middle school renovations begin.
The group found pool time can be difficult to find. Owen J. Roberts and Coatesville are the only school districts with pools in Chester County. Other possibilities for leasing pool time would be an organization such as the YMCA or local colleges where demands for pool time are already high.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 610-701-7613 or dbeideman@phillynews.com
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