San Benito High School Superintendent John Perales recently announced that the school will be pumping the pools dry, essentially draining any hope of the city-sponsored summer swimming programs happening this year.
In a Facebook message addressed to students, parents and community members, Perales said he did “not have good news to share regarding our pools.” The shallow and deep pools are being emptied so they do not turn green, as the school cannot continue to filter them.
“We are actively looking into solutions and have been working with a pool engineer to see what these solutions will look like,” Perales said. “We have three options: 1) close them indefinitely, 2) repair the pools (costs $500,000+ knowing that eventually these pools are to be relocated south of campus (according to our master plan) and their current location becomes the center of campus. 3) begin to explore building a new pool(s) sooner than previously anticipated and at the expense of some of our current plans for modernization / construction.”
Earlier this month, Perales said that the district is in a “tough situation with our pools and will need to close them until further notice.” In an email message to staff, he said plaster in both of the school’s pools is coming loose “is a danger because it leaves very sharp areas where students and staff may be cut or hurt.” He said the district initially felt “there was a very good chance” that the plaster repairs could be completed by the beginning of the recreation swim program as well as the high school water polo season that begins in the fall, but then a second issue surfaced.
The district was issued a cease and desist order by the city of Hollister and local water officials because overflow and filter backwash water from the two pools drain into storm drains — which, while allowable when the pools were built in 1964 and 1974, respectively, is no longer permitted.Â
“We have some difficult decisions ahead,” Perales said in his most recent message to the community. “Please know that I feel badly about this and know the impact it has and will continue to have on our community.”
Perales said he has reached out to Hollister officials to see if the city may be interested in a joint-use project, such as a pool and aquatic center complex similar to what exists at Christopher High School in Gilroy. “The tough part is finding the needed funding,” Perales said. “These are very expensive projects.”