Pool needs public support

Help save the pool. The (North Kitsap) school board is facing a serious budget shortfall. One of the solutions they are considering is to close the North Kitsap Community Pool. At the board meeting last week, one board member said the community needs to help as the school district just does not have the money. The board is saying that the pool costs approximately $350,000 a year and with ongoing funding cuts they are reaching the place where they cannot support this community asset much longer. They said they are having to decide between paying for programs and capital assets or paying for teachers.

Our pool serves our entire community. From small children learning to swim to mid-day swimmers using the pool for stress management to the seniors and others using the pool to fight aging and health problems. Personally, I use it for weight control and to keep my diabetes in check. Swimming is the exercise I can do with a bad knee. You, your children or your neighbors’ children probably swim there. It is a major source of recreation for the adults and children of our community.

It adds to our quality of life. It is a major capital asset that adds greatly to our quality of life in North Kitsap. New homes are springing up like weeds and these families will have children who need the pool. The price for these new homes is supported by having a pool with good programs in place. Your home value is supported by having a pool. Once they pull the plug and drain the pool, it may never come back. The quality of life in the community decreases and so do our home values.

Now is the time to act. Do you want to save the pool? Do you think it adds to our community? Does it make sense to have this capital asset?

We are forming a citizens’ group to work to save the pool. We need your help and encouragement. If you want to keep the pool, we ask you to do two things today: Contact the school board and tell them to fund the pool; and send an e-mail to savenkpool@gmail.com. We will keep you informed of events, board meetings and when we have our organizational meeting.

We need your support to save the pool. If we want the pool, the community must come together to save it. If we do not do it now, no one will do it.

Be part of the solution and we can keep our pool. Do nothing and we will lose our pool. Please take action today.

Andrew Sargent

Poulsbo

I have proudly been a part of the Poulsbo community for more than 10 years. My family is small, but on numerous occasions we have given back to the community and the schools with volunteer hours when it was needed. I always have watched with great admiration the members of the HDPA as they have championed for Fishline and the Marine Science Center where my family and I have volunteered our time. I have the same admiration for those very few PTA members in all of our schools that spend countless hours so that our kids could have playground equipment, lab equipment, and provide tokens of appreciation to the teachers and the staff. Three years ago I took on the job of volunteering for the booster club for the Poulsbo Pirahna Swim Team. This is a year-round, fun-first, community swim club. One year ago I sat with members of the community and the school district on a task force to see how we could bring more revenue and more members of the community to the pool. Thanks to the members of the school district who took the time to study the pool and it’s offerings to the community, revenue and usage of the pool increased.

Sadly, again this year the district must try to cut expenses. Intellectually I understand that the different “pots” of money must be divided according to the law. I also believe that teachers deserve every cent that they are entitled to. But emotionally I find it difficult that in a community that gives so much, we can not take a few more years to devise a plan to keep this community asset going. (Earlier this month) our small club raised $1,200 so that we can purchase equipment for the pool. These kids are part of this community and it will be extremely difficult for our coaches to tell these kids that there are no longer funds for the pool. These kids are not the only ones affected. It also affects the fitness swimmers, kids who want to take swimming lessons, the synchronized swimmers, and the swimmers for