Pool of Lifeguards Drying Up : Recreation: A dwindling number of instructors, resulting from new Red Cross requirements and low wages, threatens to cut back on swim classes offered by cities.

A shortage of lifeguard and swim instructors in Orange County has forced at least one city to close a pool for the summer and is resulting in cutbacks in swim classes in other cities, officials said.

As parks and recreation workers across the county prepare to open pools June 25, Garden Grove officials said the Bolsa Grande High School pool will be closed this summer because of the shortage. Costa Mesa officials are to decide Friday whether the city has enough lifeguards and instructors to open the Estancia High School pool.

Huntington Beach, which may have to reduce the number of swim classes it offers because of the shortage, is turning to beach lifeguards to help train more poolside personnel, said Bob Werth, the city’s senior recreation supervisor.

“Other cities that don’t have our resources, I don’t know how they’re going to do it,” Werth said. “We’re paying good money, and we still can’t find (lifeguards and instructors).”

Officials say the shortage is due to several factors: changes in Red Cross training programs, an increase in state requirements for lifeguards and the low wages that the jobs offer.

Within the last year, Red Cross changed its 21-hour standard first-aid course, which met all state requirements, to an eight-hour course. Despite the shorter course, the state still requires about 100 hours of training in other areas, so to make up for the lost hours, lifeguards this year have to take supplementary courses.

Every five years or so, the Red Cross updates its programs to improve their quality, said Marsha Felton of the Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross. The new requirements should not come as a surprise to cities, she said, because the Red Cross notified officials last year of the change.

“We’re trying our best to meet the requirements of the state and meet the requirements of our own organization and to bring our instructors up to the level that the national organization wants them,” Felton said.

She added that the Red Cross continues to offer the same number of training classes as before. “We still have the same number of instructors out there that we’ve always had,” Felton said.

Although pool closures mean hundreds of people will lose a place for summer fun, officials say their main concern is safety. They need to keep the lifeguard-student ratio low enough to prevent drownings and accidents and also want to keep classes going to teach children survival techniques to prevent future drownings.

“We’re a beach community, and we’re water-oriented,” Werth said. “We want to get these kids in the water just for safety’s sake.”

Many of the cities are getting ready for a class overload, which they will not be able to meet. The Newport/Costa Mesa YMCA will have to retain some of the lifeguards it usually hires out to private pools and apartment complexes.

“This is also going to affect my ability to open up classes when classes fill up,” said aquatics director Regina Stoop. “We can only accommodate so many.”

Some cities are trying to certify more lifeguards by offering their own supplemental training certified programs in addition to the reduced Red Cross classes, said Bill Palmer, community services supervisor for Fountain Valley. Lifeguards and swim instructors there are receiving additional training from local paramedics.

In La Habra, pool managers receive additional training through the city of Long Beach.

Then there is the problem of recruiting young people for summer jobs that generally offer between $5.50 and $8 an hour after going through up to 100 hours of training that costs up to $100.

Many officials suggested that fewer young people are attracted to pool jobs because they are able to find other summer work that pays just as much or more without requiring as much training. Some supervisors are trying to give their lifeguards “guaranteed hours” so they are paid regardless of the number of people who show up for a swim class.

“Pay is an issue,” said Deborah Schoch, recreation supervisor for Garden Grove. “I’m trying very hard to give my staff (benefits): T-shirts, sweats . . . to entice them to stay with me.”

Anaheim lifeguards received a 10% raise this year, making the starting pay for lifeguard-instructors $6.71 an hour, said aquatics coordinator Gil Luna.

Seal Beach has started marketing lifeguard jobs as a start to a good career.

“I started as a lifeguard,” said Kirk Zuniga, president of the Orange County Aquatics Council and sports coordinator for Seal Beach. “It helped pay for my school because it was a guaranteed job every summer. I had to put in a lot of hours, but it has to be more than money. Eventually it will pay off.”

Times staff researcher April Jackson contributed to this story.