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Hernando Today

School Swim Program Will Continue, Sort Of

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: October 8, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The members of the current Hernando County School Board may not be sure how to handle a longtime program that teaches kindergarteners how to swim, but school board candidate Gene Magrini is.

Hours before the board's scheduled discussion of Superintendent Wayne Alexander's recommendation to cut the $18,000 YMCA swim program from a tightening budget due to negative teacher feedback, inconsistent participation and the availability of vouchers, Magrini released a statement pledging to donate $18,000 per year from his $32,600 school board salary to pay for the program.

"I was flabbergasted that this would be something that's on the block," Magrini said. "We live a few miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and this is a disaster waiting to happen. I've put my money where my mouth is, and I'll fund it."

Ultimately, the board opted to leave the district's longtime program in place, but leave it up to individual school administrators to decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not their school has the need and budget to fund the substitutes necessary to continue the program. The board would pick up the necessary transportation costs.

The program - which transports kindergarteners via school bus five times per year from local schools to the YMCA off Mariner Boulevard in Spring Hill for 30-minute water safety and swimming lessons - will likely continue at schools where 100 percent of kindergarteners participate, such as Deltona Elementary School. However, it may drop off at schools such as Chocachatti Elementary School, where just 12 percent of students participate.

Now, the YMCA will offer vouchers, which offers free swimming lessons for students who need to learn how to swim, rather than the district taking time out of the instructional day for students.

But that shouldn't be the case, Magrini said.

"I would absolutely continue subsidizing the program," he said. "I just can't imagine saying to the principal of a school, 'We're going to pass this buck to you,' and then a tragedy happens with a child. It's just not worth it."

Magrini said his own children went through the program at local public schools and that he considers the program very beneficial.

"Living in Florida, this is not a luxury. It's a necessity," he said.

Magrini said he would donate the money directly to the program or through a Hernando County Education Foundation grant, depending on what's legally appropriate.

His opponent, school board candidate James Yant, applauded Magrini for the gesture and said he also would have been opposed to cutting the swim program.

"I think school board members should always donate a portion of their income to programs they (care about)," he said.

Yant said that he, too, plans to donate a portion of his salary to local programs and organizations that help students.

"I'm not doing this for votes," he said. "That's why I haven't even mentioned it, at this point. I was going to set up an account and put teachers and students in charge of it - but I didn't want to make it a political issue."

"I want a person to vote for me based on other circumstances, not because I promise to give them something," Yant added.

However, with anticipated additional state funding cuts on the horizon, he suggested that more school board members get involved with donating money to school programs.

"I think everyone should get involved with contributing because there's going to be a lack of funding," he said.

Of the district's 1,623 kindergarteners during the 2007-08 school year, 1,167 participated in the program. At some schools, students were given the option of opting out of the program if they already knew how to swim.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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