Aquatics Facility at OPRFHS

Recently, the school board of Oak Park and River Forest High School has been debating on locations and a budget for a new aquatics facility. Estimated at around $35 million dollars, the aquatics facility - including upper-level bleacher seating, locker rooms on the first floor, and an Olympic-sized pool - has been considered for three different locations: the baseball/softball field, the area occupied by the existing parking garage, and the athletic field on Lake Street. The projected completion date would be sometime in 2017.

Personally, I have no objections to the pool itself. The high school could certainly use an up-to-date aquatics facility with proper seating for teams and spectators and a regulation size pool - though I do think Olympic-sized is a bit much. Isn't that about double the normal high school length?

None of the three proposed locations seem to be very suitable for this facility. By building it on the baseball/softball fields, the contractors take away the already limited space that sports and other extracurricular activities need. The parking garage was recently built - for $7 million. And the Lake Street athletic fields were also recently installed, and teams use them frequently. Why remove useful places already being used for a third pool?

On the estimated cost - there are so many things the school board could do with that money other than spend it on another pool. They could update the existing athletic facilities - maybe even the existing pools. They could put more money into academic pursuits. They could do things for the community. Or, my personal suggestion - they could fix the decrepit school cellos for the orchestra.

Yes, I know, sports teams bring in more money and publicity than the music department can. Yes, I know, there are other issues that require funding more than a few heaps of plywood the school tries to call cellos. (Though in my opinion, the orchestra should be the top priority. Cello player talking, here.) But would it really be that detrimental to the school's bank account to spend a few thousand to update the orchestra instruments? It is incredibly frustrating when there are twelve cello players and only six or seven working cellos. Some don't have endpins or all the fine tuners. On others, the bridges are broken or the fingerboard is falling off. One is literally coming apart at the seams. And the school spends $35 million on an aquatics facility.

Don't get me wrong. I am not arguing against a new aquatics facility. I only think the money required could be spent a bit more wisely - or, barring that, if the school wants to burn through a few million, the least they could do is fix the cellos.