Peters Township board mulls swimming pool, finances for new high school

PT board mulls swimming pool, finances for new school
{child_byline}By Harry Funk
Staff writer
hfunk@thealmanac.net
{/child_byline}
Supporters of including a natatorium in the initial construction of a new Peters Township High School packed Monday’s school board meeting, with many of them commenting on the benefits of a strong swimming program.
Board members, though, face some tough decisions in the wake of finance-related issues that threaten to put the high school project “$3.5 million over our budget,” according to Superintendent Jeannine French. District officials have set a limit of $90 million.
One of the expenditures involved is the school district’s share, to be split with the township, toward construction of new roads and improved intersections to access the former Rolling Hills Country Club property. The higher-than-anticipated cost estimate exceeds $3.7 million for each entity.
Last week, school administrators opened bids for the high school project and appeared to receive good news, at first.
“We were kind of within reach on Wednesday of our numbers,” French said. “We were able to actually get everything that we would have wanted that was in our bid package, including all of our deducts.”
The natatorium is listed on bid documents as a “deduct alternate,” which allows it to be pulled from consideration as a separate item. The cost is approximately $5 million.
“Unfortunately, bidders have the opportunity within 48 hours to withdraw their bid,” the superintendent explained. “And by Thursday morning, two of our low bidders pulled out, which caused a couple of million dollars’ swing the other way.”
The board plans to meet at 6:30 p.m. today for further discussion about the overall project, with swimming supporters hoping a natatorium comes with the package.
“We know we need a new pool. You know we need a new pool. We need to figure out how to make this happen,” Peter Rose, president of the Peters Township Swim Club, told the board during Monday’s meeting.
He touted the educational value of water-based sports.
“Swimming is a life-altering sports that creates a venue for instilling in our children time management skills, leadership skills, healthy eating skills, healthy practice skills, friendship skills and fostering ability to keep our kids off the streets and in the books,” he said.
Numerous other township residents spoke in favor of a natatorium, including high school swim team member Alex Lepri.
“We need a new facility for multiple reasons, most importantly for health reasons,” he said, noting that the pool at the current high school often is subject to chemical imbalance. “Within recent years, this has left some of our swimmers with chemical burns across their bodies, hair loss and an excessive growth of tartar within their teeth.”
Another problem at the 50-year-old pool is poor ventilation, which “leads to more than just comfort issues,” Lepri explained. “It causes oxygen depletion.”
The student said he had to be taken to the hospital for that reason during a meet last year.
The Rev. Jamison Hardy, who chairs the school board finance committee, said his fellow board members and administrators are “working feverishly” to resolve the project’s budget issues.
“If the pool does not make it into this project,” he said about initial construction, “it is the intention for us to build it in the future, and it will be a financial issue.
“The idea if we don’t put it into this existing, current project, that in some way we are speaking against the swim club or the swim team, that is an inaccuracy,” Hardy continued. “Come what may, if the pool is not in this project, it will be roughed in to be built in the future, and that is the near future, depending on, again, finances.”