PaliHi Pool Groundbreaking August 1

Rose Gilbert’s Last-Minute $900,000 Donation Seals the Contract

Legendary English teacher Rose Gilbert donated another $900,000 for the Palisades Charter High School’s state-of-the-art aquatic center on Tuesday. At the board of director’s meeting, Gilbert presented the board with a cardboard check, and said, ‘I’m the God fairy who came in the middle of the night, so put on your swimsuits.’ Gilbert, 89, had already donated $1.1 million for the center, which will be named after her late daughter and swimmer, Maggie Gilbert. Her latest contribution brings the total amount the school has raised to about $2.6 million. The board of directors had agreed earlier that the school would not break ground until 75 percent of the funds were in the bank. The estimated cost of the aquatic center is $3.5 million. The high school has received four bids from pool contractors for the project and two of those bids are in the $3.5-million price range, said Gregory Wood, chief business officer. ‘Thanks to Rose’s $900,000, we are really in the position to move forward,’ Wood told the board on Tuesday. Gilbert had only one stipulation for her donation ‘ she wanted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, August 1. ‘My birthday is August 2, and I wanted it before my 90th birthday,’ Gilbert said. ‘I have never written a check that big, but I feel like I am doing it for Maggie and for every kid at PaliHi.’ Gilbert said she envisions the pool being used for physical education classes, and she hopes there will be a requirement that all students have to learn to swim in order to graduate from high school. The PaliHi pool committee’s goal was to secure 75 percent of the money and host a groundbreaking ceremony in August, said Jeanne Goldsmith, whose consulting firm was hired to fundraise. Before receiving Gilbert’s latest donation, the committee had about $1.6 million raised and was searching for ways to fill the gap to meet the August deadline. ‘Rose has done a lot to make this happen,’ Goldsmith said. ‘She is an amazing woman.’ The board voted unanimously to give the pool committee the authority to select a pool contractor. To honor Gilbert’s request, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held on August 1 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the high school. The aquatic center will be built at the corner of Temescal Canyon Road and Bowdoin Street, replacing the outdoor handball and basketball courts. The main 10-lane pool and adjoining two-lane lap pool will be available for water polo games, water aerobics, diving, swimming lessons, lap swimmers and more. The center should be complete in summer or fall of 2009. PaliHi still needs another $900,000 to complete the project. Wood said that if necessary, the school could easily secure a loan for that amount. By renting the facility to swim teams and aquatic groups outside school hours, the pool should generate about $540,000 in annual revenue. He expects the pool will cost about $370,000 to operate and the remaining $170,000 could be used to pay off the loan. Goldsmith said she doesn’t plan to slow fundraising efforts. A group of PaliHi students in a marketing club are promoting the pool. They and other supporters have hosted neighborhood parties and more are planned. Supporters have also raised $15,000 by spending two hours on the phone seeking donations and plan to raise more money through phone solicitations. Board member Eileen Savage, who is also on the pool committee, wrote in a letter to the Palisadian-Post that the pool will be available for community use daily for about two hours before school starts (5:30-7:30 a.m.) and six hours after school ends at 3 p.m. ‘ The pool will also be open on the weekends and most holidays (closed on national holidays) and during summer vacation. Since PaliHi will be contracting with groups such as swim clubs and water polo clubs, the school will post updates quarterly on lane availability for community members, Savage said. ‘Our goal is to meet the needs of as many community members as possible, while ensuring that our students benefit from aquatics as part of their regular PE curriculum and that we have facilities that support the school’s athletic programs,’ Savage wrote.