CINCINNATI (AP) - Six of Cincinnati’s 25 pools might have to open later than scheduled because there aren’t enough lifeguards to staff them, city officials said.
Aquatics director Jincey Yemaya told The Cincinnati Enquirer (https://cin.ci/1FEfYHB ) the city is short about 65 lifeguards.
Four pools are scheduled to open this weekend and the remaining pools are set to open June 2, four days after Cincinnati Public Schools let out for the summer.
Yemaya said Wednesday this is the first time the city has had to delay pool openings. Ten pools faced closure due to budget cuts in 2010, but donations kept them open.
The city is also facing another issue, the city council raised the age at which children can be alone at pools from age 7 to 12 after the drowning death of a 10-year-old at a city pool last June. The change could be problematic for working parents.
City pools are considered an important resource for children in a city like Cincinnati, where the child poverty rate is 53 percent.
City officials aren’t sure which pools may remain closed because lifeguards are still being assigned based on memberships.
Yemaya said the deadline for finding lifeguards is Friday, when the next free lifeguard class starts.
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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, https://www.enquirer.com
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