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Schools

New Community Pool Has 2012 Target Date

Fundraising is under way for the construction of a bigger, $1.9 million community pool at Agoura Hills High School.

Next year, local residents and high school students may have a bigger and more energy-efficient community pool at Agoura High School. Fundraising has been under way for months to pay for pool construction, which school officials hope will begin in early 2012.

“There’s always been a lot of talk about building a new pool,” said Peggy McClintick, a parent volunteer and coordinator for the Agoura Water Polo Foundation, the driving force for the community pool project.

Built in 1972, the current pool is 25 yards long with six lanes, according to Jason Rosenthal, 's athletic director.

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The pool is used extensively during the school year, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day by the swim and water polo teams. “Sometimes, we have to augment practices, so we head over to Oaks Christian and other nearby pools,” said Rosenthal.

Nevertheless, the current pool size and limited practice time appear not to have placed the athletes at a disadvantage: The Agoura High swim team emerged as CIF champions last year.

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“Just imagine what they can do with a larger, more modernized pool,” McClintick said.

The new pool will be double in size, with 12 lanes, said Rosenthal, a longtime Agoura resident and former competitive swimmer. “We are really excited about it,” he said.

If the funds fall into place, the pool project is expected to break ground in the early part of 2012. “We really want it to be operational by the start of the next school year, but it depends on how well our fundraising effort goes,” said McClintick.

To date, a total of $200,000 has been collected through a variety of community events and individual donations. In February, the foundation raised $60,000 through a Casino Night fundraiser. Last Sunday, the foundation held a at Bellavino’s Wine Bar in Thousand Oaks. About 35 people attended, raising another $1,000.

The new pool is estimated to cost $1.9 million, but the school district is requiring 110 percent of the funds to be raised in order to break ground, since it will be on school district property.

Dr. Donald Zimring, Las Virgenes Unified School District superintendent, confirmed the financial requirement. "We were very excited and impressed by the plans that the foundation presented to us, but we just want to make sure they have sufficient funds to see the project through," he said. "We just don't have the extra funds to fill in any gaps."

Parents and committee members have said they are ready to make it happen. They plan more fundraisers, letter writing, grant writing and phone calls to accomplish the goal.

“We are hoping to find one or two big corporate sponsors who will partner with us and pay for naming rights to the pool,” said McClintick. “It’s just a matter of time, but it will happen.”

The new facility would not just be available to the swim and water polo teams and other students, said Rosenthal. “It will be for the entire community to enjoy,” he said.

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