OXNARD : Pool Backers Seek Board Endorsement

Boosters of an Olympic-sized pool at Oxnard High School asked the Board of Education on Wednesday to support their effort to raise $1.5 million to pay for the swimming facility.

The money is needed to build a 50-meter pool at the new Oxnard High campus under construction on Gonzales Road. School board members earlier this year pledged to build a pool at the new campus, but district officials have said it will be at least three years before they have enough money to pay for the pool.

That alarmed some parents and educators, who said Oxnard High swim team members would be left without a place to practice once the old 5th Street campus closes in June.

The state will own the old school once the campus closes and has said it intends to sell the property.

A group of parents announced earlier this month the formation of a committee, called the Oxnard Aquatic Foundation, that will seek to raise the $1.5 million by September.

The group told the board it planned to hold fund-raisers over the next five months to come up with the money. Oxnard Union High School District Supt. Bill Studt praised the foundation supporters.

“That’s a lot of money to raise,” Studt said. “But they are very enthusiastic and are getting involved, so who knows what the heck can happen.”

Although the Board of Education approved a design for a pool measuring 25 by 35 meters, Ventura businessman Jim McConica has spearheaded an effort to upgrade the length to 50 meters.

An Olympic-sized pool would allow the school to host swim competitions and make it more attractive for groups that may want to rent it after school and during the summer, McConica said. The larger size would cost an extra $330,000, bringing the total cost of the project to about $1.5 million, Studt said.

Pool boosters hope to have the swimming pool built by February of next year.