Renton community raises enough money to keep Hazen, Lindbergh pools open

Published 10:38 am Monday, June 27, 2011

Renton swimming pools have been saved by the community for another year.

The Renton School District announced Thursday that community members throughout and beyond the district have exceeded their goal to raise $60,000 to keep swimming pools at Hazen and Lindbergh high schools open next school year.

To date, the community has contributed more than $69,000 and there is anticipated employee matching funds from Boeing and Microsoft which will raise more than $72,000 total.

“I’m really impressed with all the outstanding efforts that people put into the project to make it happen,” said Chris Carlson, organizer with Renton Pools Community.

There were more than 400 individual donors who raised various amounts from $1 to $10,000, Carlson said.

Contributions came from beyond Renton’s borders from Kent, Fairwood and Bellevue. The largest donation came from the Bellevue Swim Club with $10,000.

The district challenged the community to raise $60,000 to keep the pools open for the 2011-2012 school year. Because of continued state budget cuts to education, the district could not continue to fund two pools while having to make cuts to education programs, according to a news release. The $60,000 is the difference between the revenues from the pools and the expenses that the district could not provide. It costs the district $869,000 to operate both the Hazen and Lindbergh pools.

For the following school year, 2012-2013, fundraising will still be needed, but not as much, said Carlson.

Community organizers hope to make the pools self-sustaining in the future. They are optimistic because the school board approved a small rate increase and pool management is striving to get pool revenues to meet operational costs.

Community organizers also are looking at providing advertising banners as a source of revenue.

With some 50 swim meets a year, there is constant exposure, which is valuable for businesses, said Carlson.

Community fund-raising efforts will take a hiatus for the summmer and they will come back in the fall using their most successful tactics from last year.

The pools are used not only by community members, but district students’ swim and dive teams, teams from nearby Kentridge High School and by private swim teams throughout the area.

“I think everyone can congratulate themselves on a job well done,” said Carlson.