Thursday, October 1, 2026
A decision to close the pool at The Evergreen State College because of financial constraints has local swimmers, parents and teachers calling for a halt to the process.
At a community meeting of approximately 30 student athletes and parents at Olympia High School on Monday evening, March 2, Olympia High School assistant swim coach Henry Valz spoke about the upcoming permanent closure of the pool at the end of June.
The decision came as a surprise to Valz, who told parents that he was in the process of negotiating next year’s contract before receiving an email from the college about the pool closure on Thursday afternoon, Feb. 26.
The timing of the email was not lost on Valz.
“It was really unfortunate that they told us on Thursday afternoon when essentially, the (state) budget had passed through committee and was just going to head to the floor, because that gave us no time to go to our legislators (about the pool issue),” Valz said.
Two days later, on Saturday, Feb. 28, The Evergreen State College interim Chief Financial Officer John Reed addressed the issue in a message published on the college’s website.
The message focused on upcoming operational changes at the college brought on by a projected budget shortfall.
As a result, Reed said the college was making two operational changes to help deal with likely reductions in state funding for the higher education sector in the upcoming budget cycle.
One of those operational changes involves the pool, while the other is related to the campus bookstore. He stated that the college will close its pool at the end of June.
“The pool has served our campus and the broader community for decades, and we recognize the important role it has played as a place for wellness and connection. However, it carries significant ongoing operating and infrastructure costs,” the message states.
“Recently, the Washington State Department of Health notified the college that the campus pool requires approximately $60,000 in immediate repairs in order to meet current health and safety standards.
“Because these required upgrades are mandatory and must be completed in the near term to continue operating the facility, and given the pool’s significant ongoing operating costs alongside the college’s broader budget challenges, this additional $60,000 mandated expense underscores the financial realities behind our decision to close the facility at the end of June, allowing us to reduce expenses and prioritize resources that directly support instruction and student success.”
During the hour-long meeting, Valz told parents about the possibility of moving the swim team training sessions to North Thurston High School’s smaller pool next school year.
However, using an example of roughly 50 boy swimmers, Valz said it would be difficult to manage the team at a smaller facility.
“It's an 11 lane pool. I mean, it's almost unique on Earth. It feels like it allows us to run two full teams at a time,” said Valz of the pool at The Evergreen State College.
“Our boys team had almost 50 boys. You can't run 50 boys in a four and a half lane pool, which is what North Thurston is.”
The team could become a “cut sport,” said swim captain Campbell Patterson, a junior at Olympia High School, at the meeting.
She said she is worried about the potential of not being able to swim with some of her friends during her senior year.
“Some of my best friends, love them to death, are not the best swimmers. So imagining having my senior year, my last year, and my best friends, and maybe not even being able to see them, that's really upsetting to me. I've been swimming for eight years. It's a really important part of my life,” she said.
Patterson added that she protested in the past with a previous swim team over another facility’s decision to close its pool to the public by making it private.
“They wanted to be a private facility, like the YMCA and the Valley, and so I fought this battle already. I'm tired of it. And I'm just sick of facilities not realizing, not seeing the human lives that it affects, and more seeing the monetary value,” she said.
One concerned parent also offered her thoughts on the pool's closure. Joellen Wilhelm, a mother of a freshman who aspires to become a swimmer, said the impact of the closure would be widespread.
“I think closing the pool would be a loss for the community, because it's a community resource. It's a state funded institution and for the students that go there, but also for the community at large. We use that pool for many things. … So, yeah, it would be a loss,” Wilhelm said.
Moving forward, Valz encouraged parents and students to write letters to legislators emphasizing the importance of keeping the pool facility open.
Natasia Moniodis, a junior and student swimmer at Olympia High School, has already taken that step by writing directly to Governor Bob Ferguson.
“Without Evergreen, four schools — both boys and girls teams — will lose access to a place that allows us to practice and compete in a sport we love,” wrote Moniodis in the letter. “This could mean no more swim meets, the end of local team traditions, and an end to hundreds of teen athletes careers.”
Additionally, Valz said there is an online petition calling for the pool to remain open.
“It's already up to 2,500 signatures. That's really good, actually. So if you want to share that, that's good too,” said Valz to the people at the meeting.
7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
ClimateTeam
Seems like instead of a petition, they should find a way to raise the $60,000.
Tuesday, March 3 Report this
BlueHeron
It seems odd that the abrupt firing of the Evergreen bookstore manager and the planned closure of the store itself is getting so little public attention. While the pool has impact on the larger community, closing a university bookstore can have complex impact on students and the community economy. Textbook prices have been rising sharply for decades. Students who must await the arrival of financial aid may end up waiting for textbooks, too, wasting up to a month of study. Closed bookstores that cannot extend credit or negotiate with Financial Aid offices remove a necessary support from students attending school on a financial thread.
Tuesday, March 3 Report this
Quadlok
The school could cut the president's salary by 20% instead. Or, yeah, OSD could foot the bill. I don't see why NTSD can run 3 pools and Olympia can't pay for use of one.
Tuesday, March 3 Report this
36098501
Just turn the College over to the UW already.
Evergreen has been run into the ground for over a decade without a care in the world for the taxpayer dollars needed to keep it on life support with no hope for improvement. This problem can't be fixed.
There is a reason that all three of the finalists candidates for College President suddenly dropped out without a reason after visiting the College and working through the campus interview process. Even the Evergreen board was surprised not a single one of them wanted to even pursue the opportunity any longer. Apparently, the Board is also too close to the problem to actually see it.
Isn't the College at like 40-50% attendance capacity?
This doesn't happen by accident, but by a long time, failing and reckless Board. A Board that is long on ideology and short on ability, accountability and demanding positive results. It is unfortunate that Evergreen lost the strong leadership it once had. This downfall was foreseeable and avoidable. This type of organizational structure, or lack thereof, will always disappoint and destroy itself in the process.
SPSCC can barely manage the growth it is experiencing in attendance.
Throw Evergreen a lifeline before we have to watch the entire College campus infrastructure go down.
Tuesday, March 3 Report this
OlyBlues
As unfortunate as it is to see the pool close down, the reality is Evergreen should be completely shut down or absorbed by the UW. That would actually help the state budget. Enrollment has been struggling for decades and the woke ideology and indoctrination that has gone on there over the years has only made enrollment worse. If these groups want a pool, time to pony up the money. The state does not have it to subsidize the pool, the Dems have spent it all and them some.
All of that said, this pool has proven to be a real community resource and it is sad to see places like this that provide positive, healthy activities for youth closing down.
Wednesday, March 4 Report this
wolfmanner
How about just closing "EverRed" college for good. Make it a shelter for the homeless.
Wednesday, March 4 Report this
Westside2
Keep the pool open! Be cheaper to keep what we have as a community than to try something else. …Or we could study the idea of a pool like City of Olympia and City of Tumwater! Keep poring money into exploring the idea than the reality or working together as community to keep our infrastructure open.
Wednesday, March 4 Report this