Roughly 50 new faculty members were formally welcomed to the district on Sept. 10, at the first board of education meeting of the new school year, but the board spent the majority of the two-hour meeting addressing an issue that is, on the contrary, not so new.

For the past 20 years, the indoor pool at Farmingdale High School has suffered from a variety problems, including recurrent leaks and structural damage to the roof, all of which have been remedied. These problems have caused the facility to temporarily close in the past, but many residents expressed frustration by the length of its most recent, four-month closing, which resulted from a heater replacement, a leak in the pool's main valve and unsafe chlorine levels - situations which left many swim teams looking for alternative venues.

Assistant Superintendent John Lorentz told residents that the pool was always, and still is, slated to open Oct. 1, despite demands from the crowd to open it sooner. He explained that the pool closed on May 23 because portions of the school's 40-year-old boiler system were being replaced, including the one that is used to heat the pool. He said summer seemed like a good time to begin the four-month, $700,000 process because school was out and summer is when the pool is routinely drained and refilled. Additionally, the summer months are when local swimmers use outdoor swimming facilities.

"We close the pool every summer," he said. "We said that we wouldn't put the pool back online until we could heat it properly and the reason Oct. 1 was picked is because we're replacing the boilers that heat the pool and those boilers are scheduled to be completed Oct. 1." The assistant superintendent added that the pool closing was scheduled around the end of swim seasons.

"We have a very fragile system," Lorentz said, and during the refilling, the pool's main valve sprang a leak. He admitted that in the past, leaks were just tweaked until they resealed themselves, but this leak proved to require more attention. After extensive consideration following the board meeting, it was decided that the faulty valve would be replaced as soon as possible - a nearly $10,000 repair, being funded through the district's maintenance budget.

Joy Seminario, the first resident to address the pool closing, received a standing ovation by more than half of the 90-member audience - which was largely comprised of swim teams. She stated that the closing had unacceptably affected the girl's varsity swim team by causing them to attend mandatory practices in remote locations where transportation was not provided during the summer practice schedule.

Since the beginning of the new school year though, the varsity athletes have been shuttled over to Farmingdale State University as well as the Aquatic Center in Eisenhower Park for their daily practice, costing the school's Athletic Department a total of $1,940. Seminario also insisted that if this issue involved facilities used by the boys football or lacrosse teams it would have been addressed sooner. "It is grossly unfair to treat [the girls swim team] with less importance," Seminario added.

Lorentz disagreed with her comment and said that over the years, many teams - including boys track and football - have been deprived use of their respective facilities due to repairs. He said that closings depend on when a proposition to fund the repairs is made by the board, which is then voted on by residents for approval.

Throughout the repair process, it seemed as if pool users were receiving opposing information from what Farmingdale administrators were receiving. While two weeks ago, swimmers heard that the pool's chemical levels were in balance, thus making it safe to swim in, Lorentz received logged reports that the chlorine levels in the month of September, to date, were dangerous.

He said the Board of Health requires the chlorine level to be between one and three, and noted that since Sept. 1, the level hasn't been below 3.5 and has peaked at 10.

Not only have the girls varsity and junior varsity teams been displaced, but the Farmingdale Swim Club (FSC) and other community organizations that use the pool have been equally affected. Virginia Boccio, treasurer of the FSC, who also claimed to have received information that the pool was safe to swim in, told the board that it seemed as though it was trying to cover up for mistakes.

"You dropped the ball, we're asking you to pick it up," she said.

Lorentz said he understands residents' frustrations. "The pool is part of Farmingdale's culture," he said. While many residents attempted to propose solutions to the pool's problems, he added, "At this point in time, we believe we have the remedy at hand."