LAKEPORT—At a standing room only meeting of the Lakeport Unified School District (LUSD) Wednesday, members of the community provided input in regards to whether or not the district should build a new community pool. Administrators also discussed declining enrollment as a factor in decreased funding.
Many speakers shared success stories about how swimming created confidence and how this led them to succeed in college and beyond. Keith Brice, a Lakeport resident, spoke about his wife holding a Guinness world record in swimming and how his daughter learned to swim in Lakeport and also received numerous awards.
Safety was mentioned several times as a reason to build a pool. Because of the proximity to the lake, many community members mentioned the importance of teaching children to swim. Danielle Erickson, a Lakeport resident and recent graduate, stated that she was currently working on becoming a first responder because she was provided the opportunity to become a lifeguard at the pool.
Those few who spoke in opposition primarily based their decision on the cost to build and maintain the pool given the current budgetary challenges facing the district.
Also on the agenda was a report from the newly formed Bond Projects Prioritization Committee. The committee listed the pool project as last out of 15 total projects. Jill Falconer, incoming superintendent, stated that the committee, made up of representatives from the community and schools, met for over two and a half hours recently and discussed all the projects at length. Their top three priorities included upgrading the infrastructure for a public address speaker system and surveillance system, installing classroom interactive projectors, and building a fitness center and tennis courts.
Some members of the Channel Cats, a local youth swim club, were in attendance. Allison Hanson, community member, stated that the bond was passed largely due to the efforts of the Channel Cats, adding that It was clear in the bond language that a community pool was supposed to be a top priority. Supervisor Tina Scott, a long-time supporter of the pool, voiced her agreement that a pool was important to the community, but she also added that 21st-century classrooms, surveillance and HVAC in the high school gymnasium were also very important.
Dan Buffalo, board president, added that he fully supported the pool and thought it would be a tremendous opportunity to bring additional programs to the district which would attract students and therefore help increase enrollment. “We need to adhere to the will of the voter,” he said, adding that he would bump the pool project up to number one on the priority list.
Jeannie Markham, board member, added to this by stating that the pool would benefit all of west county and that Lakeport should not do it alone. Phil Kirby, board clerk, agreed that bond money should be set aside for the pool, but this was a project which should be shared with the community, especially since the district is currently in deficit spending. Kirby reemphasized that we need to “work in collaboration with the community”. He also felt that installing a surveillance system should be a top priority as it would reduce discipline problems. Jen Hanson, board member, stated that she agreed with Buffalo’s comments and further stated, “I’ve never seen the level of community involvement as I have seen with this issue”. This matter will be returned to the agenda for further discussions the second board meeting in July.
In other matters, Jacque Eischens, chief business officer, provided an extensive three-year budget report. There was great concern that the district would not meet the required 3 percent reserve required by the state after the 2019-2020 school year. She went on to state that increasing or decreasing the budget by $400,000 dollars would help solve the problem. The board felt that bringing students back who have left the district could help mitigate some of the budgetary shortfalls.
Eischens explained that declining enrollment is a major factor in the decrease of funds. Falconer stated that in order to draw students back to the district, staff needed to better promote positive programs and inform the community regarding opportunities LUSD has to offer including the new state of the art media center at the middle school and culinary arts opportunities in the newly built kitchen at the high school, as well as many other programs LUSD has to offer. Falconer is working on a social media plan to emphasize these items.
It was also stated that phone calls could be made to those students who have left the district to find out why they left and to ask them back. The board agreed that the district needed to put forward a better effort to communicate the positive and also agreed that they needed to find out why students left the district in the first place.
Pat Iaccino, Interim Superintendent, announced that this would be his last board meeting before handing the reigns to Falconer. He told the board to keep focused on the students and keep the emotional side out. He further stated, “Make decisions based on the students best interests and you can’t go wrong.” The board gave him a standing ovation.
