LANSING AQUATICS IS VITAL TO OUR COMMUNITIES EDUCATION

Forty-six years ago, the Lansing School District made a commitment to teach its students swimming and water safety.  We are concerned that this commitment is in jeopardy with potential looming budget cuts for the 2020-21 school year and beyond.  As concerned citizens, we ask the Board of Education preserve the aquatics program including its incorporation in the physical education program. Thousands of students have benefited from this curriculum, not just learning the basic skills but also acquiring a lifelong love of being in the water.

As we all know, Lansing borders Cayuga Lake with our own Myers Park right here in town.  Many of us have spent time on its waters boating, fishing and, of course, swimming.  In order to fully enjoy this beautiful lake, the first things we needed to learn were water safety and swimming, and the best place to master these skills is in our school swimming pool.  The loss of our aquatics program detracts from water safety in our community.

Learning to swim in the school setting is an inclusive opportunity that many of our students may not otherwise have access to.  It provides the beginnings of a lifelong enjoyment and physical fitness gained through swim.  All Lansing students participate in aquatics, including students with special needs as well as those recovering from injuries who use the pool for rehabilitation.  Numerous high school students become certified as lifeguards in our pool under the guidance of our aquatics director; these students go on to serve their community at the Lansing pool, Myers Park, and teaching lessons in the winter and summers.  Many students have gone on to participate in crew and other water sports in college or in their adult lives, and they can pass the prerequisite swim test because of our lesson program. 

Athletics is important to our community, and all of our district’s swimming and diving teams have done very well.  Lansing’s swim history is strong.  Without an aquatics program providing early and frequent swim and safety, eventually our boys and girls swim teams may cease to exist. 

The pool was meant to be a community resource, available to groups such as the boy and girl scouts, families and people of all ages.  Recently the Town of Lansing was able to offer open adult swim, and for many years offered additional swim lessons to our youth.  The school summer camp programs use the pool to enhance participants’ team-building experience and as a healthy additional activity.

We ask the District to communicate what would be required to keep this invaluable resource.  Is there a possibility to offer use of the pool for a nominal fee to help offset some of the costs of keeping it open?  How can we better use this resource to benefit our community instead of taking away something that most are not as fortunate to have?  We finally have a pool that is fully operational and a healthy place to exercise and have fun.  Please preserve the aquatics program; its loss would be felt by the entire community.