OXNARD : High School Pool Repairs Postponed

Oxnard High School officials, who planned to close the school pool for repairs, have decided to delay the project after a crowd of swimmers protested the closure.

The school will wait until the end of this year’s swim season before it closes down the pool, the Oxnard Union High School District board of trustees decided after 50 swimmers and their supporters complained at a board meeting Wednesday.

But repairs of the pool’s outmoded filter and corroded pipes cannot wait for long, officials said. When the filter malfunctions, it also puts the pool heater out of commission.

“We just hope to use baling wire and whatever else is required to keep it open, at least through the swimming season,” said Steve W. Stocks, the board president.

The latest problem with the pool occurred Monday when the swim team coach announced that the pool water was too cold for practice. Administrators then decided they could wait no longer for the repairs, said Richard Kennedy, the district’s assistant business manager.

In a preliminary estimate, a consultant has said it will cost the district a minimum of $100,000 to $110,000 to install a new filter. Maintenance of the pool, built in 1957 by the city of Oxnard, has cost the school district up to $70,000 a year, Kennedy said.