YINZ/YIDZ

It's been said that Mt. Lebanon's industry is education. While test scores and college admissions prove the point, one would never know from the condition of the high school itself.

The infrastructure of the school is old, and falling apart. The roof leaks — REALLY leaks — as if it is raining on center court. Windows are held together by duct tape. Ditto the auditorium chairs.

The condition of our school is not only embarrassing; it's dangerous.

Additions to the school have been slapped on, hit or miss, through the years, the last sometime in the early 70s. There is no rhyme or reason to the layout. Labs are nowhere near the science classrooms. It can take a full 10 minutes to go from math class to the arts wing. If you don't get lost along the way.

This is why, for the last several years, our school board has been talking about building a new school — something that can compete with the state-of-the-art facilities of nearby Upper St. Clair, or South Fayette.

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Things don't look good for the Bower Hill Swim Club.

My family became members of the club in the summer of 1994, shortly after we moved to Mt. Lebanon from Los Angeles. It's a beautiful pool, heated, with plenty of lounge chairs and a volleyball court. And, for years, it was where many Jewish families in the South Hills spent most summer evenings and weekends.

Jews from the suburbs of Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon, and from congregations Temple Emanuel and Beth El, used the pool as a place to gather, letting their kids enjoy the water while the parents socialized. It was a ritual many of us looked forward to all year.

I'm not sure why, but as the years have passed, I seem to know fewer and fewer of the families that come to the pool. Admittedly, as my children have grown, I spend less time there myself, sometimes just dropping the kids off, or letting them drive themselves.

I was sad yesterday to receive a letter from the board of directors of the pool, explaining its financial problems. Membership is down from 350 families to 205. Necessary capital improvements have cost the club over $100,000 in the last three years. And rental income from a building on the club's property has shrunk from over $34,000 a year to zero as the club cannot find a tenant to take the space.

Ironically, the rental building that had supported the club for years had been used by Chabad of the South Hills until 2007. Chabad had wanted to purchase the building at fair market value, and build an addition to accommodate its need for more space, but the board of the club decided not to sell. Now the building is empty, and the club is struggling to survive.

So, according to the letter I received yesterday, the plan is to raise annual dues "significantly," assess additional fees, and increase each member's bond amount by $100.

Unfortunately, I have my doubts this plan will work  to save the pool. Will all these assessments actually bring in more members, or cause the current ones to just move on?

Could be the end of an era.