A dispute over the use and funding of a public pool located in a local high school has been pulled back from the brink of litigation with a proposal for a ‘cooling off’ period followed by a round of voluntary mediation to try and find a mutually acceptable solution to the conflict.

The San Mateo Union High School District pool was built at Burlingame High School in 1999. The school district controls the pool, and the city pays for use of portions of the pool for swim teams. The district and the city have also frequently informally cooperated to fill in funding gaps and necessary maintenance in the past.

However, the city of Burlingame did not respond to the district’s request for more pool time and space for its own use and higher payments for the time and space rented by the city, and the district quickly moved to file a lawsuit to force the issue despite a history of cooperation between the two entities. The district, however, has announced that it will form a committee to investigate a proposal by the city that would avoid litigation entirely and seek solutions via mediation instead.

The dispute stems from a decision by the district to shut the pool down for a month in January to make necessary repairs and maintenance. In the past they have attempted to work around the city’s swim programs and kept the pool open, and the city responded negatively to being informed that they would have no choice but to close their programs for a month.