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Large public turnout urges Laguna Beach board to keep approved 45‑meter pool plan; trustees debate city partnership and design alternatives
Summary
At a long public‑comment section, students, parents and alumni urged the district to proceed with a previously approved 45‑meter pool modernization. Trustees discussed a lower‑cost modernization alternative and possible city partnership; staff estimated the approved concept at about $25.5 million and a modernization option at about $15.3 million.
Hundreds of residents, parents, athletes and alumni packed the Laguna Beach Unified School District boardroom to urge trustees not to reopen the high‑school pool modernization decision the board approved in October.
Speakers representing youth teams and club programs described current scheduling and safety problems and urged the board to keep the approved 45‑meter design. "If we build a bigger pool, our water‑polo team can have more home games," said a student speaker from the 14‑under team. Multiple parents and longtime residents recounted traveling outside Laguna for practices and said a larger pool is necessary to host league and CIF playoff events.
District staff presented an informational comparison of options. Jeff Dixon summarized the programmatic tradeoffs and cost estimates: the approved 45‑meter concept was estimated at about $25.5 million; a modernization of the existing building to support a smaller (roughly 38‑meter) footprint was estimated at about $15.3 million. Dixon said the approved concept remains in design and that plans could be submitted to the State Architect as early as the end of March if the board proceeds.
Trustees debated whether to pause and reopen design options — including retrofitting the current lockerroom building to add indoor showers — or to continue with the 45‑meter concept. One trustee asked the city to reengage and explore whether the city would contribute funding; another said the district already has savings and urged moving quickly to avoid cost escalation. The board voted to direct staff to continue due diligence and, separately, unanimously authorized staff to issue a request to interview search firms for a permanent superintendent.
The pool discussion was listed as an information item and no final design decision was made that night. Staff cautioned that changing direction could add an estimated $300,000 in design costs and delay construction by a year, with potential additional escalation in construction costs.
