*Editors note: The pool’s operating cost has been changed to reflect a correction issued by the Renton School District.

The Renton School District is considering closing the Lindbergh Pool next fall.

“We’re scheduled to conclude the school year with the pool opened,” said Rich Moore, assistant superintendent of business. “What happens after then is up to the…budget development process.”

The district’s superintendent will propose a tentative budget this spring, which will include expected cuts for the 2010-2011 school year.

Although the 40-year-old pool was built on district property, it belonged to King County until two years ago, when Benson Hill annexed.

The pool was no longer in unincorporated territory, so the county released ownership.

Instead of giving the pool to the city, the county gave the building to the property owners, the Renton School District.

For the past two years, the City of Renton has paid to keep the pool open with money the county provided for the Benson annexation. That money has run dry.

The school district must now find an extra $175,000 in its annual budget to keep the pool open.

“The Lindbergh pool is a new cost for us this year,” Moore said.

The additional cost comes at a time the district is expecting deeper budget cuts from state lawmakers.

“We look at the programs that are closest to meeting our educational directive – to provide education for students,” Moore said. “Those items that are secondary to that are going to be under review. That could be anything from transportation to athletics.”

The pool is used more often by the community than the school district. A giant purple slide replaced one of the pool’s two diving boards, and a rope swing was placed in front of the other.

Kentridge is the only school other than Lindbergh that uses the pool,and it’s in the Kent School District.

However, the pool’s schedule is full from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily with swim lessons and private rentals.

“We pretty much have a revolving door of people coming through everyday,” said Bryce Jensen, pool supervisor. “The community thinks this is an asset.”

The pool was visited about 86,000 times in 2009 and had about 6,000 enrolled students, Jensen said.

The district and the city are talking about future funding, but the city can’t afford to pay for the pool, said Mayor Denis Law.

*In the 2009-2010 school year, the district expects to collect about $300,000 from pool users, making up about 63 percent of the pools’ $476,000 annual operating cost, said spokesperson Randy Matheson.

In addition to operations costs, the pool is in need of extensive repairs, including a roof replacement and a new boiler system, Moore said. “It was only originally scheduled to be a 40-year building.”

If the district changes the building in any way, it has to bring the entire building up to code, which could cost millions, Matheson said.

If the pool closes, Lindbergh would practice at the district’s first pool at Hazen High School, Matheson said.

“Much like everyone’s budget throughout the state, everyone has to make hard decisions about programs and responsibilities of their budget,” he said.