Cost, Classroom Funding Concerns Stall School Pool Decision

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — The idea of building a $10 million swimming facility at Prince William County’s next high school was floated again last night.

The county’s Board of Supervisors and School Board met for dinner during a rare joint session Tuesday. There, members heard got an earful about plans for the school from School Board Chairman Milton Johns, but both boards couldn’t reach an agreement on who would build the pool and who would maintain it, the county government or the county school division.

School officials say the new facility would be built at the county’s 12th high school in the area of Va. 234 and Hoadly Road. It would be used by students during the daytime, and then by outside swim teams and residents outside school. If it’s built, it would be the first pool to be inside a county school, and it would be open to all students in Prince William County.

A lack of swimming space at other facilities in the county like Chinn Center, Dale City Recreation Center and the Freedom Center in Manassas, has prompted the need for the local government to build new swimming pool space, said Prince William Chairman Corey Stewart.

“The question isn’t whether we need to build the pools — we need to build pools. The question is will this pool be part of the solution?” asked Stewart.

“If the school system was united behind building this, and it’s clearly not, or else we wouldn’t be here tonight discussing this…” said Prince William Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe.

While public swimming pools are common in eastern Prince William County, and are operated by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department, most pools and swimming facilities in western Prince William are privately owned, with the exception of the popular Spashdown Waterpark maintained by Prince William County.

For parents with children on swim teams, many are forced to rise early to get existing swimming facilities as early as 4:30 a.m., in order to find an open lane.

One of those packed facilities, the Chinn Center in Lake Ridge, would be used as a model for operating any new swim facility that would be built. It operates 97 hours per week, employs two full-time staff and up to 50 part-time lifeguards, and operates at a $47,000 annual loss — which isn’t bad for a county-management facility that covers 96 percent of its operating costs and is out to serve the community and not make a profit, said Prince William Parks and Recreation Department Division Chief Tracy Hannigan.

There were rumors that last night’s meeting would yield an agreement where the Board of Supervisors would arrange to build the new swim facility using plans already hashed out by the School Board, hire staff from the county’s Parks and Recreation Department to operate the pool, and use school security staff to patrol the facility, proved false. 

With no decision, the two boards agreed to meet again in another joint session later this summer.

“I am not opposed to building a pool in a school, but to think that this will be a division-wide pool for all to use, is pie-in-the-sky thinking,” said Woodbridge School Board member Steven Keen.

Keen, and two other holdouts on the School Board — Gainesville member Allyson Satterwhite and Neabsco member Lisa Bell — say $10.5 million could better be used to reduce class sizes and increase teacher pay.

Keen also fears other schools without swimming pools would demand them if a new swimming facility is constructed inside the new school.

“If we build it, then immediately the cry will go up at other high schools asking ‘where’s my pool?’ and we’ll be able to justify it — if we build one, we’ll have to build others,” said Keen.

Chairman Stewart on the county board, as well as others on the School Board, support the project.

“This is for our children. We are the 7th richest county in the United States and we can’t promise our children when they graduate high school ‘you will know how to swim,” said Dr. Michael Otaigbe, of the Coles District.

School Board members Betty Covington and Lilly Jessie also supported the pool and the a program at pool that would teach swim instruction, lifeguarding, and water rescue.

If the pool is built, it’s anticipated to cost $1.5 million a year to operate. Officials said revenue generated by the pool — for events like swim meets, birthday parties, and recreational swimming — would offset operating costs, and help spur economic development in the region.

“We have people going to Maryland for swim meets, and they usually involve eating out and sleeping overnight,” said Prince William Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Walts. “We’re missing out on economic development.”

The School Board is expected to make a final decision on whether or not to build a swimming pool sometime in December or January, officials said.