PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia School Board on Thursday voted down a $10 million rehab that would have reopened the swimming pool at the rec center at Sayre High School.
The district-owned pool at the Sayre-Morris Rec Center in West Philadelphia has been closed since 2017 because the building is in disrepair. The pool had long been used to train city lifeguards and provide activities for neighborhood children.
Rejecting the project by a 7-1 vote, board members expressed concerns that the proposal should be prioritized as part of an overall capital improvement plan. Board President Joyce Wilkerson questioned the project, noting the district faces $5 billion in deferred maintenance on its other buildings.
“It is a mistake for us to consider this without having it considered in the context of our broader capital program,” she added.
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“This is so much bigger than just, ‘Get me a pool,’ ” echoed board Vice President Leticia Egea-Hinton. “I would like to see a bigger plan.”
“How many amazing playgrounds could we build with this much money?” asked board member Maria McColgan. “Should pools be our priority?”
Board member Julia Danzy said the district has to think of where repairs are needed most urgently.
“I think it would be great to have this pool. In fact, to have a pool like this at least in every section of the city. But I think that we do have to be realistic in terms of prioritization,” she said. Danzy suggested a plan to share expenses with the city to get the pool reopened.
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Cecelia Thompson cast the lone vote in favor of the project, noting that not everyone in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood can afford a membership to the YMCA. “[The pool] wouldn’t go to waste,” she assured.
Before the board members voted, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier pleaded with the panel to approve the project.
“Having this important community asset taken away, having it sitting there continuing to deteriorate — this isn’t just about swimming,” she said. “It’s about taking a heavily used resource away from kids and families and a neighborhood that is both besieged by gun violence and lacking in safe recreational spaces.
“We will not accept more kicking the can down the road on deeply needed investments, especially in communities that are suffering right now,” she continued. “I understand that the board wants to put in place a larger capital strategic plan and that you’re trying to move away from one-off investments. But where is this plan? And in the meantime, what is our community supposed to do?”
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