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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Doug Jones, swim and water polo coach at SHS, is looking forward to the new pool.
Saratoga pool facility nears funding goal
By Jason Baker
Questions surrounding construction of a new aquatic center for Saratoga High School have been answered in the form of a $200,000 anonymous donation for facility construction. For almost two years, the school has been raising money to fund the new facility. As the school's Annual Appeals fundraising campaign wound down this year, SHS principal Kevin Skelly said the school was still about $300,000 away from the $1.1 million estimated cost for construction. The anonymous donation from a local family brings the school to within $100,000 of its goal, Skelly said.
"I'm pleased our discussion has shifted from 'when will we build the pool?' to 'what will the pool look like,'" Skelly said. "While we still have more fundraising to do, we now have the resources to begin planning and construction of a wonderful new resource for our students and the community."
The existing SHS pool was constructed more than 35 years ago. According to Skelly, the pool is too shallow for serious swimming and too small for competitive water polo. The new facility will be Olympic size (50 meters by 25 yards) and will be designed for competitive swimming, water polo and recreational use.
The school district successfully passed a $79 million bond measure in June to modernize its campus. The money, however, must directly address educational programs and can't be used for sports or recreational equipment.
"Because our campus modernization efforts will be addressed through the use of bond monies, the most glaring unaddressed physical need of our campus is a new aquatics facility," Skelly said.
In a statement to SHS administrators, the anonymous donors said, "Saratoga High School does an outstanding job meeting the academic needs of its students. The school also has a long history of delivering championship athletic teams to go along with the strong academics. The aquatic area, has, quite frankly, been an embarrassment.
"We couldn't ignore the opportunity to invest in the school, to give the students a chance to pursue after-school sports in a first class facility they can be proud of."
Major improvements have been made recently to the school's other athletic facilities through the leadership of the SHS Athletic Booster Club and other community members.
In 1996, a new all-weather track was installed. The following fall, the softball field was modernized with new dugouts and batting cages. The batting cages of the baseball field were improved as well. Enhancements also have been made to the tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts.
"A high quality aquatics center has important value for our entire community, not just the high school," Skelly said. "While there are families who have their own pools, an aquatics center would be an important focal point for community building. Not only will our own school programs benefit enormously from a top-notch facility, but Masters swimmers, those seeking aquatics lessons and recreational swimmers have much to gain from this project."
Skelly said he is hopeful the school can convince the city of Saratoga to aid the final construction of the new pool.
"They have approximately $2.4 million for the development of parks and recreation facilities in Saratoga. I believe that given the community's heavy use of our facilities, support of this project by the city is appropriate."
Construction of the new pool is tentatively scheduled to begin this winter.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
