Renovating Simmons Elementary Pool Costly: Superintendent

HATBORO / HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — The Hatboro-Horsham School District is weighing how to keep a pool afloat.

At its recent meeting, the Hatboro-Horsham School Board heard a request from student board representative Nitya Narra to consider keeping the swimming pool at Simmons Elementary School open.

Narra said the pool provides the school district with several opportunities, adding that the community could use the pool and high school teams could practice before school starts each day.

Schools Superintendent Scott Eveslage said the school district considered options for the future of pool use for many years.

During the time of planning for the new Keith Valley, the superintendent said the district weighed options, including:

• Incorporating the pool into the Keith Valley construction project
• Leaving it out of the project and completely renovating the Simmons pool
• Decommissioning the Simmons pool and building an addition to the high school with a new pool.

The District ultimately chose the first of those options, as it was the most desirable and cost-effective option, Eveslage said.

"The long-term plan for the district never included operating two pools simultaneously, as that is not a cost-effective option and would not be a good use of resources," the superintendent said. "The district programming for pool usage has been met with one pool historically, and we can maintain programming with one pool."

One option, he said, may be too costly.

He said that renovating the pool at Simmons, which was built in 1972, would cost significantly more than building a new one elsewhere.

In other school board business:

• Narra suggested that safety drills at the high school be conducted during lunch and learning periods so students can practice responses if emergencies occur. Eveslage said the district plans to hold drills during those times this school year.