Students, teachers and parents are voicing their displeasure over the Toronto District School Board's plan to close swimming pools beginning this June.
On Friday afternoon, the board announced it would close 23 pools at elementary and high schools this summer and another 16 next summer. The board says it can no longer afford the $17-million annual price tag to keep its 78 operational pools open.
At RH King Academy, a high school in the city's east end, 1,200 students, teachers and faculty members wore ribbons as they rallied on Tuesday to protest the board's decision. The pool at their school is slated to close in June 2009.
"I think it's a shame," said phys-ed teacher Dave Chambers. "In our situation, more than 1,300 students will be deprived of a vital life skill that they need."
Between 50 and 60 per cent of the school's students don't know how to swim and they are concerned about the cost-cutting measure.
"I really think there's no point of closing it, because if you do close it, the pool's still going to be here," said one student.
"Instead of that (situation), we could be saving lives by teaching the students how to swim."
Since the announcement on Friday, the students have gathered more than 1,500 signatures on a petition that will be delivered this week to the office of their Member of Parliament.
Board members voted to close the pools if they didn't receive any extra funding from the provincial or municipal governments by Feb. 1. No additional money was promised to them by that date.
The board says it is saving $4 million by decommissioning the 39 pools. The savings will be used towards the board's budget shortfall or to fund new investments.
Click here for a complete list of the pools scheduled to close.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon
