Photograph By Kathy De La Torre
Ryan Johnson, 5, of Saratoga, takes his first big leap into the Saratoga High School pool at its grand opening party Sunday afternoon.
High school makes a splash with new Olympic-size pool
By Leigh Ann Maze
Saratoga High School's dream of having a new pool has finally been realized. After a rocky three years spent raising about $1.8 million in an inflating building climate and nine months in construction, opening ceremonies were celebrated at the new pool Aug. 27.
"It was a long process," said SHS principal Kevin Skelly, who has been a leader in the pool project from inception to completion.
About 100 people including teachers, students, representatives of the school district's board of trustees, Superintendent Cynthia Ranii, parents and community members, gathered on the deck of the new pool Aug. 27 to celebrate its grand opening, Many of the smaller children were already jumping off of the starting blocks and playing in the water before the event kicked off with a speech by SHS swimming and girl's water polo coach Doug Jones. Jones said the combined forces of vice principal Karen Hyde, principal Kevin Skelly, construction manager Bob Crowder and the Saratoga community made the pool a reality. Skelly gave certificates to several individuals and families who contributed to the pool, including Jan Birenbaum, Sandy Lewis, the Black family and the Ferrari family.
"My hope is that this pool will be used as much as possible," Skelly said as five gallons of water from the old SHS swimming pool was ceremonially poured into the new pool. "It belongs to all of Saratoga."
Skelly and many of the guests then lined up around the edge of the pool and all jumped in at the same time.
The SHS girls and boys water polo teams played a six on six scrimmage, boys against girls. The girls were victorious with a win of 12 to eight. Lemonade, deserts, burritos and barbecue were on sale, with all proceeds benefiting SHS water polo.
Photograph By Kathy De La Torre
Patrick Skelly, 4, patiently waits for his dad, Saratoga High School Principal Kevin Skelly, to finish his grand opening speech where he gave thanks to all those involved in planning and building the school's new pool facilities.
While a few details remain to be finished, such as bleachers, the installation of a scoreboard and landscaping, the water polo team has been practicing in the pool since Aug. 14.
When the students returned to school Aug. 30, the pool was ready for physical education classes as well.
When fundraising began in 1997, the estimated cost for the Olympic-size pool was about $900,000. Due to the burgeoning economy and the prosperous building climate in the Silicon Valley, the actual price tag came out to be roughly $1.8 million, according to Skelly.
The effects of the building climate were first felt in October 1999. With almost $1.1 million raised through community donations, including a $200,000 anonymous donation, district funds and boosters' club donations, SHS felt confident enough to accept bids for construction. The Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District board members were prepared to award the contract the next month, so construction could begin immediately. Instead, the low bid came in at more than $1.4 million and fundraisers found themselves short by more than $350,000.
But Skelly and his crew of fundraisers and pool supporters, which included parents, Assistant Principal Karen Hyde and head coach of swimming and girl's water polo, Doug Jones, were not dissuaded. They immediately got to work trying to figure out ways to raise more money and ways to change the pool plans to cut costs.
"When we first opened bids, I thought we were in real trouble," Skelly said. "But people really stepped forward and were enormously generous."
Photograph By Kathy De La Torre
Children, teenagers and adults waited for a countdown and leaped into the pool simultaneously for a group jump at the high school's pool opening party.
The school was not able to use any of the $79 million Measure B bond money because it is slated for use only for renovating, upgrading and constructing new instructional facilities.
On Nov. 16, 1999, the LG-SJUHSD board took a leap of faith and unanimously approved construction of the pool, even though fundraising was still about $208,000 short of the needed amount. Board members made the decision, they said, because they were confident the funds could be raised or costs could be cut, and they wanted construction to start as soon as possible so the pool would be ready for the 2000-2001 school year.
The Saratoga City Council came forward on Jan. 19 and contributed $150,000 per the recommendation of the parks and recreation commission, enabling SHS to start the pool's planned construction with all of the hoped-for amenities.
In the end, the school district gave a quarter of a million, the SHS athletic booster club gave $170,000, The Valley Foundation gave $50,000 and private donations from individuals, families and foundations made up bulk of rest of money, some giving more than $100,000 for a total of about $1 million.
The old swimming facilities at SHS consisted of a 3 1/2-foot deep lap pool that was more than 35 years old and too shallow for serious swimming. There was also a "diving well," which was smaller than a regulation-size pool, and too small for competitive water polo. The old pool was finally demolished in November 1999, Skelly said.
The new facility is Olympic size (50 meters by 25 yards) and is specifically designed for competitive swimming, water polo and recreational use.
Photograph By Kathy De La Torre
Saratoga High School vice principal Karen Hyde pours the former school's pool water from a 5-gallon jug into the new pool with her children, Hayes, 10, and Mac, 6. Special guests and staff took turns pouring the water into the pool.
Construction of the new pool continued through the spring and summer under Bob Crowder, who volunteered his time as construction manager of the project. Crowder works for Gilbane Construction, a company that is working on the Measure B construction projects. Crowder is a swimmer himself and has children who attend Los Gatos High School. During the construction process, 3,000 cubic yards of dirt was removed from the hole where the pool now sits.
With the new pool finally complete, not only can SHS students expect better facilities, but the community, which gave so much to make the pool a reality, will also have access to the pool. Until now, the city of Saratoga has referred people who are interested in aquatics programs to the YMCA and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Community Education and Recreation Department, according to Kim Saxton-Heinrichs, the city's recreation supervisor.
Along with its contribution, the city council agreed to a five-year contract with the school district for the use of the pool. The school district and the city plan to work together to develop aquatic programs that serve the entire community.
Already, West Valley Aquatics, a private swim club, has plans for a masters swim program, swimming lessons and practices in the new pool, according to Skelly.
High school functions will have first priority of the pool time, Saratoga recreation department programs will have second priority, and community youth leagues will have third priority. The school district guarantees at least 400 hours of usage per year to the city.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
