Letter: Money Saving Options for LBUSD

The following information has been gathered from publicly available sources and focuses on the aquatic facility component of the LBUSD Master Plan (“Plan”). It results in total estimated savings of $35 million or more.

Any planning process for such a significant Plan as proposed requires open communication to help reduce the potential for an unintended negative impact on the teams, LBUSD, community, and surrounding neighborhoods. This is especially important for Laguna Beach, given how densely packed homes are here and because the Plan calls for a significant bond issue likely to be $150 million or more based on what has been presented. Having a great modern facility is possible if the teams, school district, community and neighbors work together to thoroughly explore and craft a feasible solution that works for all.

As a competitive water polo player and swimmer in my day and have extensive business experience, I leveraged that and did some detailed online research to better understand the merits, challenges and potential options surrounding the swimming pool expansion proposed in the Plan.

A crucial early step in the process that appears to still be open is to take the comprehensive “wish list” of things likely collected as any part of such a longer-term planning process and then identify a smaller list of “required” items. This process helps avoid unintended consequences and costly changes later.

All items on the “required” list should then be carefully reviewed to ensure “absolute minimum requirements” for Laguna Beach High School (LBHS) teams to compete under the governing rules of each sport officially are met. This “absolute minimum requirements” list provides a baseline that can be added to and refined as things progress and more information is collected and the Plan is refined.

While more detailed design and analysis work is needed, online tools for the following observations are readily available and powerful. To make things easier for the reader throughout the following information, both yards and meters are converted as applicable for clarity after reference points. California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in California.

What governing rules require for men’s and women’s swimming:

CIF, USA Swimming, and NCAA rules require pools to be 25 yards long for competitions (short course) and have a minimum of 8 lanes. It is important to note that in the United States, 100% of competitive high school swimming and 100% of competitive collegiate swimming occur in 25-yard short-course pools. Most pools used for lap swimming, including those used for high school and college competitions, as well as most recreation pools are 25-yards long. The most common size for college pools is 25-yards (22.9 meters) by 25 meters (27.3 yards), which is also the size of the existing 10-lane LBHS pool.

The existing pool already meets men’s and women’s swimming requirements at both the high school and collegiate levels.

What governing rules require for women’s water polo:

CIF, USA Water Polo and NCAA rules indicate a standard (championship) course for women is 25 meters by 20 meters (21.9 yards). Rules also state that the width of the field of play shall not be less than 10 meters and not more than 20 meters.

The existing pool already meets women’s water polo requirements at both the high school and collegiate levels.

What governing rules require for men’s water polo:

CIF, USA Water Polo and the NCAA rules are the same for men, except a standard (championship) course is 30 meters (32.8 yards) by 20 meters (21.9 yards).

The existing pool already meets the 20-meter requirements of the rule, but it is 5 meters (5.5 yards) short of the 30-meter element.

What governing rules require for larger pools:

As proposed, the Plan envisions an oversized 50-meter pool being built where the LBHS tennis courts are, but no related commentary on the “why” has yet been provided. As indicated here, the rules do not require a pool of this size to be built for any of the sports mentioned, as all competitive high school races occur in short course 25-yard length pools, and water polo only requires a pool of 25 meters for women and 30 meters for men.

A 50-meter pool isn’t required under the rules for competitive high school (or collegiate) water polo or swimming activities.

Now that the basic rules have been established, it is important to analyze the existing pool footprint as a possible option, as it will likely save a significant amount of money for LBUSD and taxpayers and is likely the least disruptive area to modify, given the pool already occupies the space. 

What the existing pool area can support:

The good news is that it can easily be seen online that with a few key changes, the existing footprint comfortably fits a 40-meter by 25-yard pool. This option not only meets the needs of all teams and the community, but is commonly found at high schools throughout California and other states, costs less to operate, and likely saves an estimated $35 million or more in total costs.

Utilizing the space has many additional benefits that include such things as: giving teams a nicely updated facility much sooner; supporting community needs; addressing neighborhood concerns; eliminating the need to tear out and relocate tennis courts that are only five years old; avoiding adding heavy congestion to a critical emergency escape route on Park Ave and a host of other issues.

The existing footprint appears to comfortably fit a 40-meter by 25-yard pool that meets the needs of all teams and the community and likely saves an estimated $35 million or more in costs.

Other points to consider:

Most Orange County public schools do not have a 50-meter pool.

LBHS is 250% smaller than the average student population of public Orange County schools with a 50-meter pool.

LBHS is the smallest public high school in Orange County and enrollment is projected to decline further in the next few years.

LBHS has about 49 students on its combined water polo and swim teams, representing only 4.7% of the high school student population.

The existing LBHS pool size already meets the rule requirements of men’s and women’s swimming and women’s water polo as-is

LBHS surrounding neighborhoods are 10x closer to the pool (at only 19 yards away) than the average for competing public high schools, primarily due to high density and a tight geographic area. As a result, the negative impact of such a large-scale plan is significantly greater.

LBUSD receives 84% of its funding from property taxes as it is community funded. It has a fiduciary responsibility related to monies collected, so balancing the needs of the community, school and neighborhood impact are critical elements of consideration given a plan of this magnitude.

I hope the information helps the school board and community better understand the rules-based requirements for high school swimming and water polo, so the Plan can be modified to better fit the area and needs of all.

It is time to explore simply expanding the existing swimming pool to 35 or 40 meters within the current footprint, upgrading and modernizing the facility, and working with the City to see what other options may exist for other locations around Laguna Beach that might also be leveraged. Doing this could save $35 million or more and get a new pool online much faster so the kids and community can start using it.

Steve Brown, Laguna Beach