The 180 members of the Manteca Dolphins Recreation Swim Team have to drive to Lathrop for their swim events.
They want to have that changed. Instead of using the Lathrop High School swimming pool, they would like to hold their swimming events at any of the high schools in Manteca, or even the community Lincoln Pool on Powers Avenue.
Manteca Dolphins parents who officially asked the Manteca Unified School District Board of Trustees for the change of venue cited a number of reasons.
“The kids are confused why they have to drive to Lathrop and why they can’t be in their hometown,” Manteca Dolphins president Lori Brubaker told the district officials at their last regular meeting.
Appearing with Brubaker at the podium in support of the official request were about a dozen parents of Manteca Dolphins swimmers.
With the spiraling price of gas at the pumps, that financial dent in the parents’ pocketbooks is another concern, Brubaker said. The trips to the Lathrop High campus are roughly five to eight minutes one way, she said.
She added that swim meets are “quite a family event” that usually last a whole day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., which means the families have to spend their dollars at restaurants and other businesses in Lathrop. In that sense, “Lathrop is taking tax dollars from Manteca,” Brubaker pointed out.
Granted, “those tax dollars are not substantial,” she said, but it’s still a “big concern.”
Having their swim activities at Lathrop High has also affected the membership of the 40-year-old Manteca Dolphins, Brubaker said. They’ve lost 15 percent of their swimmers as a result, “so that’s impacting our numbers as well,” she said. “We want to be back at Sierra High or East Union.”
Board member Nancy Teicheira, who said she was a swimmer for years, responded to the Manteca Dolphins request by saying, “I would like to see what we can do to help the group.”
Superintendent Jason Messer said he did not see any problem asking the City of Manteca if the Dolphins could go back to East Union, maybe even have the three high school campuses used by the group on a rotation basis in future years. He admitted that he was the one who made the decision to send the Manteca Dolphins to Lathrop High School. The Manteca Dolphins is under the City Parks and Recreation Department; however, the city and the school district have a quid pro quo agreement regarding the use of facilities, he explained.
Messer said his decision to assign Lathrop High to the Dolphins is based on the fact the Home of the Spartans campus is a new school and as such its pool has less demands than the other Manteca high schools. Hence, his decision was also based on the wear and tear of those swimming facilities.
The crowded community swimming pool at Lincoln Park in Manteca is likewise out of the question. Last year alone, that facility logged 1,200 swim lessons.
Messer said the district will follow up the Manteca Dolphins’ request with a letter to the swim group’s president.
Brubaker said the organization, which has been in existence for 40 years, currently has 180 swimmers. She said the group is open to boys and girls 5 to 18 years of age.
Manteca Dolphins’ mission, according to its official web site, is “to help create a positive swim experience for all children on the Manteca Dolphins Swim Team. We strongly emphasize the development of correct stroke techniques. This emphasis on fundamentals results in improved strokes and times for novice swimmers and the establishment of a necessary base for advance skills as the swimmers progress. At all levels the swim workouts emphasize the teaching of stroke mechanics as well as conditioning and fun.”
For more information about the Manteca Dolphins, visit their web site at www.mantecadolphins.com.
They want to have that changed. Instead of using the Lathrop High School swimming pool, they would like to hold their swimming events at any of the high schools in Manteca, or even the community Lincoln Pool on Powers Avenue.
Manteca Dolphins parents who officially asked the Manteca Unified School District Board of Trustees for the change of venue cited a number of reasons.
“The kids are confused why they have to drive to Lathrop and why they can’t be in their hometown,” Manteca Dolphins president Lori Brubaker told the district officials at their last regular meeting.
Appearing with Brubaker at the podium in support of the official request were about a dozen parents of Manteca Dolphins swimmers.
With the spiraling price of gas at the pumps, that financial dent in the parents’ pocketbooks is another concern, Brubaker said. The trips to the Lathrop High campus are roughly five to eight minutes one way, she said.
She added that swim meets are “quite a family event” that usually last a whole day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., which means the families have to spend their dollars at restaurants and other businesses in Lathrop. In that sense, “Lathrop is taking tax dollars from Manteca,” Brubaker pointed out.
Granted, “those tax dollars are not substantial,” she said, but it’s still a “big concern.”
Having their swim activities at Lathrop High has also affected the membership of the 40-year-old Manteca Dolphins, Brubaker said. They’ve lost 15 percent of their swimmers as a result, “so that’s impacting our numbers as well,” she said. “We want to be back at Sierra High or East Union.”
Board member Nancy Teicheira, who said she was a swimmer for years, responded to the Manteca Dolphins request by saying, “I would like to see what we can do to help the group.”
Superintendent Jason Messer said he did not see any problem asking the City of Manteca if the Dolphins could go back to East Union, maybe even have the three high school campuses used by the group on a rotation basis in future years. He admitted that he was the one who made the decision to send the Manteca Dolphins to Lathrop High School. The Manteca Dolphins is under the City Parks and Recreation Department; however, the city and the school district have a quid pro quo agreement regarding the use of facilities, he explained.
Messer said his decision to assign Lathrop High to the Dolphins is based on the fact the Home of the Spartans campus is a new school and as such its pool has less demands than the other Manteca high schools. Hence, his decision was also based on the wear and tear of those swimming facilities.
The crowded community swimming pool at Lincoln Park in Manteca is likewise out of the question. Last year alone, that facility logged 1,200 swim lessons.
Messer said the district will follow up the Manteca Dolphins’ request with a letter to the swim group’s president.
Brubaker said the organization, which has been in existence for 40 years, currently has 180 swimmers. She said the group is open to boys and girls 5 to 18 years of age.
Manteca Dolphins’ mission, according to its official web site, is “to help create a positive swim experience for all children on the Manteca Dolphins Swim Team. We strongly emphasize the development of correct stroke techniques. This emphasis on fundamentals results in improved strokes and times for novice swimmers and the establishment of a necessary base for advance skills as the swimmers progress. At all levels the swim workouts emphasize the teaching of stroke mechanics as well as conditioning and fun.”
For more information about the Manteca Dolphins, visit their web site at www.mantecadolphins.com.
