Some officials say that a last-minute proposal to add a pool to the Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard campus is long overdue.
While previously dismissed as prohibitively expensive, the total cost for the addition of the pool isn’t clear yet.
School Board chair Meagan Alderton said Monday night that the regulation-sized pool is long overdue for a school system that still has the hallmarks of racial disparity in its aquatic sports teams.
“We are, indeed, asking the city to provide additional dollars to provide this facility for the Minnie Howard site,” Alderton said at the joint City Council/School Board subcommittee meeting. “I find it hard to think there will be racial equity without investing dollars in communities that have historically been denied access… Consider it reparations for people of Color, because it’s long overdue. It has been so hurtful to watch and this School Board is ready.”
Beyond the actual cost of building the pool, it would cost ACPS $1.2 million in energy credits to keep the school at its Net Zero goals. The current total cost of the School Board’s chosen design for the school is $149.5 million.
It is time for a regulation size pool for our Titans and our community! @DiveTcw @TCWilliamsAD @IntlAcademyTCW @TCWTitans @TCWMinnieHoward @TCSatellite @ACPSk12 @AlexandriaVAGov @AlexandriaNow https://t.co/w2b3RUpUhl
— Peter Balas (@TCWPrincipal) May 26, 2021
The addition of the pool throws a slight wrench into budget process, as the City Council approved the School Board’s budget weeks ago. City Manager Mark Jinks said any proposal for more funding for the addition of a pool to the school would need to be given to the city by June 1.
Photo via ACPS
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