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Parents and students urge Monrovia Unified to fix or replace broken Monrovia High pool
Summary
Scores of students, parents and alumni told the Monrovia Unified board the district’s closed Monrovia High School pool has caused injuries, lost practice time and competitive disadvantage; officials said repairs to health-department items were quoted at roughly $3 million and a full replacement at about $10 million, and the board said it is exploring funding options.
Scores of Monrovia High School students, parents and alumni pressed the Monrovia Unified School District board of education during public comment to repair the district’s closed pool, saying the facility’s condition has caused injuries, truncated seasons and harmed the school’s aquatics programs.
Student speakers described missed practices and safety problems. “Our pool has been a source of pride for many of us and we ask that you please return what we once had,” said William Maddox, a junior and CIF swimmer, who described cuts and scrapes he says teammates have sustained. Joshua Bolton, the varsity water-polo captain, said the team has had to seek practice time off campus and urged both short-term repairs and a long-term plan for a regulation facility.
The comments continued with parents and alumni calling for the board to commit bond funds or seek partnerships. “Why haven’t we allocated 10 million of the $75 million facilities bond for this broke facility?” asked Karen declue, a parent who urged the board to explore state grants, corporate sponsorships and city partnerships to fund a new aquatic center that could also produce rental revenue.
In an informational report, Superintendent Dr Hart Rus told the board the health department originally cited nine items at the pool, including peeling plaster, cracked decking, bullnose tile problems and other issues. According to the superintendent’s presentation, staff obtained two cost estimates: roughly $3 million to repair the health-department–tagged items (note: earlier discussion referenced a smaller figure for a subset of repairs) and about $10 million to replace the pool with a regulation-size facility capable of hosting playoff matches. “We were required to address all of those to the health department,” Dr Hart Rus said, describing prior emergency repairs to pumps and the heater and explaining the district proactively closed the pool to allow flexibility in addressing the problems.
Board members acknowledged the urgency and the long history of the problem, while also noting fiscal constraints and competing priorities across the district. The superintendent said the district has already drawn $18 million from Measure MM for high-priority safety and infrastructure work and that the next bond draw will require prioritized decisions that align with how the bond was presented to voters.
Board members and staff described ongoing efforts to secure alternate funding, including grant searches and potential joint-use agreements with outside partners. The board did not adopt a new funding commitment at the meeting; the item was informational and the district said it will continue to pursue options.
The board thanked the students and community members for testifying and confirmed staff will continue evaluating repairs and funding avenues; no final action to repair or rebuild the pool was taken at the meeting.
