The Lindenhurst High School Pool may have met its end

By Patrick Pollard

Suffolk County N.Y. - The Lindenhurst High School Pool, a longtime staple of the district, has been shut down indefinitely. After a November meeting held among administrators, the district announced the closure of the pool. The initial closure is credited to the repairs for the pool being overbudget. The $1.32 million budget approved by voters in the beginning of the year is now

short of the $2.1 million needed for the repairs.

The original budget for the project was provided by BBS Architects, and detailed plans repairing the mechanical room for the pool. Yet after the $1.32 million was approved, further estimates put the repairs at $759,000 more than that. William Ludeker, the assistant superintendent for business at Lindenhurst, spoke on this new problem facing the pool. He detailed how the district commissioned an investigation into the pools repairs, and the results led to a fix way over budget.

While budget always plays a role in decision making in school districts, these choices affect much more than just money. In the case of the pool, it was a required class for high schoolers in the district. Now those requirements cannot even be enforced.

Lindenhurst School District alumni Sibelle Balik provides an insider perspective on what the closing of the pool means to those that used it. Balik“grew up in Lindenhurst, and from the age of… four years old and on took swimming lessons at the high school pool”.

expressed that the pool provided a nice safe environment for her and her sister to learn to swim. Along with this Balik adds, “Growing up every Friday night you could swim in the pool for like $10… It was so fun because every Friday you looked forward to doing something, and you could go and just swim”. Taking a nostalgic approach, Balik displays the benefits the pool has had for community members like her over the years.

Yet while memories, and opportunities mean a lot to many residents, money also talks. With the proposed plan to fix the pool, the district needs another $759,000. They would achieve this through the local taxpayer’s dime, causing more problems to arise.

With a student body of around 5,000 in Lindenhurst, and the town’s population being 27,148 people, many are not affected by the closing of the school. To those with no kids in the district, it is just more tax dollars coming out of their paycheck.

At the end of the day the district needs copious funds to restore the pool. While it is a landmark, and staple of the district, it is not important to all. For those that would use it, it creates fantastic opportunities, but for others it’s another hole in their pockets.