Plan for future of school pool

The pool at Medford Area Senior High School looks pretty good for its age. This year, the school pool has marked 40 years of being used hard by area students and families and staying wet.
Given its age, it is a credit to the school maintenance staff that the pool is in as good shape as it is. However, as pharmaceutical commercials remind us just because something looks good on the outside doesn’t mean the old pipes on the inside are in as good shape. Who knows what deposits or weakened areas there might be that could cause a catastrophic failure at any time.
As anyone who has sat through a basic chemistry class can tell you pool chemicals, water and cast iron do not make the best of companions, at least as far as the iron pipe is concerned. After four decades, it is not so much a question of if a failure will happen, but when. This question is closely followed up by what it will cost and how long will it take to get the pool back up and working.
It would be nice if it was a simple matter of replacing the corroded metal pipes with PVC plastic pipes. However, since the piping is buried in concrete under the pool and school building, this doesn’t seem to be a real practical solution or rather it is one that if you were ripping that much out, you might just as well replace the pool.
Although taxpayers last spring voted down a referendum to replace the pool and build a fieldhouse, the issues concerning the pool have not gone away. Now, the school district has received a study of the pool and what it will take to keep it going for years to come. While no one is openly suggesting bringing the pool back for another vote at this time, there will be a time in the future when voters will be asked to weigh in on the issue.
The current pool is a lot like a dependable older car. It may have a lot of miles on it and need some body work, but so long as it is running well, things are fine. However over time it starts to nickel and dime on repairs or the transmission starts going and you are money ahead replacing it rather than fixing it yet again.
Planning for the day when the pool will need a major overhaul, the question needs to be asked, if the current school pool meets the community’s needs now and into the future, or would there be increased community usage opportunities by expanding it with the addition of a zero-entry area or additional swimming lanes. And moving forward toward the day when the pool will need major work done to it, the school should look at opportunities for public/private partnerships with such entities as area health care and physical therapy providers or other groups. And while it will likely rest on district taxpayers to fund the bulk of any pool project, the option of a capital campaign to push the pool from bare bones to community centerpiece should also be explored.
Medford school elected officials and community leaders need to plan now for the future.