Acknowledging another vital skill for kids is knowing how to swim, the Superintendent of the Bethel District spoke at the recent Parkland-Spanaway Kiwanis meeting regarding their consideration of an aquatic facility for Bethel’s 18,000 students and community. He said the board is likely to take up this issue in April after having visited several facilities in the greater Puget Sound area over a couple years. The superintendent also noted that in the location they have set aside for this purpose, a YMCA facility would not fit the county zoning regulations. The school district has discussed having a partner in the project who might then operate the facility. That partner has not yet been identified.

In the school board meeting earlier this week (3/26/13) , there was a brief public hearing regarding the use of funds from the 2006 district bond. Each bond issue names the projects to be completed. A representative from the bonding company spoke to the board and noted they needed to officially amend the bond to add the aquatic facility. To do this, they first had to hold a  public hearing on the alteration of the bond. Marianne Lincoln, a former board member, was the only person present to speak at the hearing. After inquiring on the specific change that was going to be made, she stated her support for a facility that would include a 50 meter pool for competitions, a therapy pool for medical purposes, space for children to have swimming lessons, a diving pool and some amenities such as a lazy river, slides and sprinklers to attract recreational users. No others spoke. Afterward Superintendent Seigel clarified the bond change to be made.

The extra amenities mentioned above have been found to be helpful in making other swimming facilities operate in the black according to the facilities director, Rob Van Slyke. Van Slyke has experience operating pool facilities in other districts. He spoke in great detail of a facility he is proposing for the district at the Spanaway business group, 723 Networking in March. Eatonville’s Dispatch newspaper covered the facility proposal in their March 12 edition. The actual facility amenities will be determined by the school board after they officially make the change to the bond proposal.

To follow this developing story, readers can find the school board agendas here on their boarddocs site. Watch for a vote on the 2006 bond issue as the starting point for this long awaited facility to become a reality.

Here is the section of the bond resolution being amended, the new portion is underlined:

• Make other capital improvements including, but not limited to, Elk Plain Elementary School multi-purpose room, Bethel High School auditorium and music/band room updates, Challenger Secondary School kitchen expansion, Bethel Junior High School cafeteria expansion and door replacements, Frontier Junior High School courtyard upgrade, septic upgrade/expansion and choir/band room soundproofing, Camas Prairie asphalt work, property acquisitions, Cougar Mountain Junior High School pedestrian safety improvements, Evergreen Elementary School gym curtain, Graham Elementary School office reconfiguration, Naches Trail Elementary School bathroom improvements, Rocky Ridge Elementary School library wall addition and covered entry addition, Educational Service Center sewer hook-up, transportation bus wash, and transportation transformer/electrical improvements. Additionally, provided sufficient funding is determined to be available subsequent to meeting the other commitments in this resolution, modify the current transportation center to accommodate use by the Maintenance Department and modify the current maintenance service center to accommodate a print shop, a curriculum repository, a media library, a science kit assembly lab and records storage space including improvements for the Information Services Department; replace manual reader boards with electronic reader boards at various sites; replace play structures, fall protection and playboxes at various elementary schools; construct other educational facilities; and pay for a portion of the construction costs of the Bethel Learning Center; and investigate and/or design and/or construct an aquatic center.

Bond money can only be spent for construction of facilities. The matching funds received from the state after other bond projects have been completed will likely be at least $12 million and possibly more according to VanSlyke. That amount is probably two-thirds of the needed funds for the pool facility. In a district with almost 18,000 students, there is a great unmet need for swimming lessons and water safety instruction and a swimming facility has long been under consideration. The district has a girls swimming team, necessary for them to meet Title 9 regulations on balancing boys and girls sports opportunities. That girls team has to train at Eatonville, Rogers and occasionally has used PLU to practice, all at some very odd hours of the morning or night. Learning to swim in a community with so much water around is invaluable. Preventing one child from drowning, completely priceless.