The current plan for the renovation of the Niles West High School pool in District 219 does not adequately address the needs of our students and athletes. The pool is an integral part of our school's academic and aquatic athletic programs, serving thousands of students every year.  Our students rely on this facility for swimming and outdoor adventure classes, as well as for practices and hosting competitions by our swim teams, diving teams, and water polo teams. The proposed plan to renovate the pool is merely a temporary solution that fails to consider long-term requirements and benefits for our student.

Under the current renovation plan, it will not be able to meet current and future demands or provide a conducive environment for our athletes' growth.  In the CSL conference, we are 1 of a very few schools left that only has a single 6 lane pool to service all the activities of our students.  This presents inadequate space for our swim teams as well as poses safety concerns due to overcrowding.  As a result, our swim team sizes often need to be shrunk, depriving students a chance to compete.  The current pool is also shallow on one end and makes water polo practices and competition very difficult.  Finally the lack of space also dictates juggling around schedules as the diving team often needs to practice much later in the evening after the swim team practice ends.  We believe that merely renovating the pool in its existing configuration is just a cosmetic change and will continue to put our aquatic teams and students in a disadvantage versus other schools.  

We believe that a comprehensive review and revision of this plan are necessary to ensure that it caters to all users' needs effectively. We urge the District 219 School Board to reconsider their decision and develop a more sustainable solution for expanding the Niles West High School pool.

Please sign this petition if you agree with us that our students deserve better facilities for their physical education and sports activities.