By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Custodian Clifford Wong is keeping Farrington High School's swimming pool locked up until repairs are made.
The DOE says a new part will cost $4,000; the
principal wants the state to replace the pump.

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Farrington
awaits funds
to reopen pool

Education officials expect a
report this week on proposals
to fix the school-community pool

By Craig Gima
Star-Bulletin

The future of the swimming pool at Farrington High School may be as murky as its stagnant, algae-green waters.

The pool has been closed since summer because of a broken pump and may not reopen unless the school gets the money for a new pump system, said school principal Catherine Payne.

The pool's pump and filter treatment equipment were renovated in 1994 for $276,000. But because the pump that was installed was designed for fresh water, chlorine in the pool corroded the valves and fixtures, Payne said. A year and a half later, the pump broke down again and cost the school $9,000 to fix, she added.

The latest pump failure will cost $4,000 for a new strainer, according to Gene Fong, an engineer with the Department of Education.

But Payne insists the school will not reopen the pool, which doubles for community use, until the state puts in a new pump.

"The people who fix the pool say the whole design is badly flawed," she said. "It is not a matter of repairing it. The whole thing has to come out and come back again as an appropriate piece of equipment.

"We don't want them to keep trying to fix it, we want it done right."

Payne said students using the pool were burned by chlorine last year because the levels were not correct.

The department is waiting for a consultant's report, expected this week, before deciding what to do.

Until the pool is repaired, the Farrington High School swim team must walk to Kalihi Valley District park to train. Members also have practiced at Kaimuki High School's pool during other pump breakdowns.

There had been talk of closing the pool permanently, but Payne said the school wants to keep it open if it can get the money.

"The pool is a real important resource to the community and we do understand that," she said. "I know we would not make people happy if we lost it."

Gov. Ben Cayetano, a Farrington High School graduate, is among those concerned about the pool closing.

"We absolutely cannot have that," he said last week. "We will get that pool open."

The L-shaped pool is the largest in the public school system. With the pump broken, the water does not circulate and the only way to make sure it doesn't turn completely green with algae is for a custodian to occasionally toss in chlorine and muriatic acid.

A barbed-wire fence surrounds the pool to keep trespassers out. But even with the wire, there are problems keeping people out when the pool is in operation, and liability is an ongoing concern.

Once the pump is working again, the pool can be reopened. But because of its age -- it was built in the early 1950s -- the facility will eventually need extensive renovation. The Department of Education has allocated $175,000 to replaster the pool. Payne estimated it will cost as much as $2 million to maintain and fix the facility over the next few years.

While the pool is on the school's wish list for construction projects, it is not the top priority for funding.

"Classroom renovations and things like that come ahead of the pool," Payne said.

State Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland (D, Palama-Alewa Heights-Kalihi) remembers learning to swim there and teaching other Kalihi kids how to swim in the pool.

"I grew up there with the Kalihi YMCA. All our summer fun programs were there," she said. "It is definitely a facility that the community can make very good use of."

However, Chun-Oakland and other legislators are also aware of the state's limited financial resources.

"We do have to do something about it. However, money is a big question," said state Rep. Felipe Abinsay (D, Kalihi).

Referring to a Star-Bulletin story last week about the state spending $74,100 annually to maintain the Capitol reflecting pools, Chun-Oakland wondered if the state's priorities could be rearranged.

"I'm surprised with the amount of money we're spending on the Capitol pool," she said. "If there was a choice between education and the maintenance of the (Capitol) pool, I would rather see that money go to the school."