SANTA PAULA : City, School District to Keep Pool Open

Santa Paula’s only pool will stay open this summer under an agreement between the city and the high school district.

At a special meeting Tuesday, the Santa Paula Union High School District trustees approved a city Recreation Department plan to pay about $3,700 to run the pool, located at Santa Paula Union High School, for six weeks in July and August.

In addition, the city will add portable toilets and a temporary shower because the facilities are unavailable during a reconstruction project at the school.

“It’s a good solution,” said board President Al Sandoval, who learned to swim in the pool. “We didn’t really want to close it down.” The elimination of summer pool hours was part of $540,000 in cuts being considered by the school district because of a shortfall in state education funds.

After protests from students and parents, the board also decided to pay a reduced summer stipend for popular agriculture teacher Bob Young. The elimination of Young’s $8,700 summer salary would have prevented many students from competing in the Ventura County Fair, parents said. The school board agreed to pay Young $2,950 for the summer to keep the agriculture program alive.