Deer Lakes School Board OKs $210,000 in pool repairs, will oppose school vouchers
The Deer Lakes High School swimming pool will be getting some much-needed upgrades in the coming year.
The district has hired Ecol-O-Pak Systems to do $210,000 worth of repairs to the pool, including installing a new stainless-steel guttering system.
Officials said the current gutter is tile and is prone to leaks.
“This is the first time we've ever actually made any sort of upgrades to the swimming pool,” district spokesman Jim Cromie said. “The swimming pool was built in 1974.”
Cromie said the improvements will make it a better environment for the school's swimmers and require less maintenance than the current setup.
He said the last time work was done in the pool area, known as the “natatorium,” was around 2010 during a larger school renovation.
No other significant improvements have been made in the roughly 45 years the pool has been in use.
The school's boys and girls swim teams use the pool. It's also used by the Deer Lakes Aquatic Club.
Cromie didn't have an immediate time frame for the work.
District opposes vouchers
The board unanimously voted to oppose state Senate Bill 2, which would create education savings accounts for students in the state's lowest performing districts.
The bill is proposed as a tuition voucher program.
It would take public school funding for students living within the bottom 15 percent of the state's districts and allow parents to use it to pay for private school, tutors and other educational expenses.
The Pennsylvania School Board Association opposes the bill, as do many other districts across the state, including neighboring Hampton and Pine-Richland, which are in affluent areas.
Cromie said the district doesn't think the voucher program would serve the public well.
“We don't think it's a wise investment,” he said. “We think public funding can be better used by funding public schools.”
Cromie said the district has concerns about money going to entities such as charter schools, which he said are not held to the same standards as public schools.
The bill was presented by Republican Sens. John DiSanto, Joseph B. Scarnati III and John H. Eichelberger Jr. in July.
The Treasury Department would develop an electronic funds transfer system that allows parents to pay Department of Education-approved education providers directly, the bill says.
It also says all transactions would be monitored to ensure funds are spent on legitimate educational services.
Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-226-4680, emilybalser@tribweb.com or via Twitter @emilybalser.
