The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 24 - June 14, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals ....................14
Classifieds ...........................4
Crossword/Sudoku ............4
Entertainment .....................6
Legals ........................... 12,13
Obituaries ............................2
Pets .....................................15
Police Reports ....................3
Real Estate. ...................7-11
Sports ...................................5
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
75˚/62˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
73˚/61˚
Sunday
Sunny
72˚/61˚
Eagles’ Nest Grads Cap Off Year
Preschoolers from the local Eagles’ Nest (teacher Lori Bowen’s room) celebrated their graduation last week in cap and gown as they prepare for kindergarten in the fall. Photo by Michelle Killinger.
New Aquatics Facility Will Entail
Big Jump in Lifeguard Staffing
By Brian Simon
With the anticipated fall opening of the El
Segundo Aquatics Center, the future of local
pool usage and community access to overall
programming will be forever altered. Just the
plan to move competitive team swimming and
water polo to the new site by itself will free
up the venerable Urho Saari Swim Stadium
(The Plunge) for many more recreational options.
As an example, the City of El Segundo’s
aquatics consultant Stu Issac recently noted
that “learn to swim” programming at The
Plunge will grow from just five hours a week
today to 20 hours once the state-of-the-art
complex at the Wiseburn High School site
opens in a few months. He estimated that
the additional hours -- coupled with soonto
be implemented fees adopted by the El
Segundo City Council this month -- could
generate as much as $70,000 a year in new
revenues to help offset a portion of the annual
operational costs for aquatics. Additionally,
the Recreation and Parks Department plans
to restructure the swim lesson program to
provide higher instructor to student ratios,
add extra time to each lesson to increase
from 25 minutes to 30 minutes per class,
and make enhancements to the quality and
content of the curriculum and instruction.
Isaac also projected big upticks in recreational
swimming, currently available at
only at 3.5 hours a week with programming
perpetually maxed out at The Plunge. That
overall usage could swell to 22 hours weekly
during weekdays plus another five hours on
Saturdays once the new facility is up and
running. Isaacs envisions services increasing
across the board and contends that in order
to be successful, “we should never see that
pool empty.”
But the expected rise in usage also will
require a major increase in staffing – and
not just on the managerial and maintenance
sides. According to Recreation and Parks
Director Meredith Petit, her department
plans to hire between 50 and 60 part-time
lifeguards – with lifeguard training courses
now available to help interested individuals
earn certifications so they may apply for
the positions. This represents an increase
of at least 200 percent from the current
25 year-round lifeguarding staff employed
by the City. “The Aquatics Center presents
challenges with staffing since it will be open
15, 16 hours a day… it’s difficult to recruit
experienced lifeguards who are available
year-round and during the daytime hours
to meet the staffing need,” Petit explained.
High school students typically can only work
nights and weekends, thereby making those
in that age group less likely candidates for
the majority of the new positions.
To help address the issue, Petit recently got
City Council approval to create two new parttime
classifications – Lifeguard and Senior
Lifeguard – at starting pay levels of $15/hour
and $18/hour along with 5 percent incremental
raises as they progress through four additional
steps. Previously, the lifeguarding duties got
absorbed into the Recreation Leader III and
IV job classifications and the salary scale
ES School Board Reviews Facility
Master Plan, Talks Bond Measure
By Duane Plank
Tuesday evening’s meeting of the
El Segundo School Board featured the
members tackling more than 30 consent
agenda items and viewing of presentations
about recommended revisions to the Long-
Range Facilities Master Plan (LRFMP),
the proposed Local Control Accountability
Plan (LCAP), as well as the proposed
fiscal budget for the upcoming 2018/19
school year.
The LRFMP, developed under the guidance
of El Segundo Unified School District
Superintendent Dr. Melissa Moore, came
forth in a process that began in 2015. At
that time, the numbers discerned were $92
million in needs at all District schools, as
See New Aquatics Facility, page 6
well as the administrative office on Sheldon
Street, to address the most important
necessities for current students with an eye
also on future academic needs.
Construction costs have escalated in
the past three years to ratchet up the estimated
price tags for hoped-for projects.
More importantly, school site safety has
become issue number one after the deadly
shootings that have occurred on American
school campuses.
Moore said that the District looked at the
LRFMP through the lens of “need.” She
added that the plan touches “all facilities.”
With that as a backdrop, Moore and District
administration met with approximately
See ES School Board, page 12