Martin County Residents Push to Open High School Pool for Public Swim Education

Patty Beonde's brother was 30 years old when he drowned — caught in an undertow, never having learned to swim well enough to survive it. Tuesday night, she stood before a packed Martin County joint commission meeting in Stuart and made the case that his death did not have to happen.

"We're surrounded by water," Beonde said. "People need to learn how to swim. We have too many drownings."

She was not alone. Residents filled the room to press county and school district leaders to open the pool at Martin County High School to the public as an affordable — and potentially free — resource for swim education. The turnout reflected mounting concern in a county bordered by the St. Lucie River, the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, where water is everywhere and formal swim instruction often carries a price tag that keeps lower-income families out.

The nonprofit Martin Swims anchored the push, asking commissioners to place a referendum on the November ballot that would create a dedicated fund to establish community pools. The cost: less than $10 per property per year, the group says — a modest assessment that could unlock pool access for children and adults who have never had it.

Martin County resident Dick Landrum put the equity argument plainly. "We have a lot of venues in Martin County that teach people how to swim. Most of them are a little bit costly, perhaps. We want it to be free. We want it to be a community service," he said.

Ricki Stein, another resident who spoke at the meeting, framed access as a developmental necessity. "Free swims where kids can just get in with their families is so important because kids learn through play," Stein said.

Both the county commission and the school district signaled openness. Martin County Commissioner Ed Ciampi offered the clearest endorsement. "If you teach a child to swim, then they're an adult that also knows how to swim," Ciampi said. "I'm all in favor of letting the public decide on the importance of swimming education."

Martin County School District Superintendent Michael Maine said he is already planning a meeting with Martin Swims to work through the logistics of using the high school pool. "It's just finding out what their wants are, what their desires are, what can we feasibly, as a school district, do," Maine said.

Dr. Blanche Wells, president of Martin Swims, said the organization is moving urgently to meet any deadline required to land the measure on the November ballot. "It's something that as lifelong swimmers we're devoted to," Wells said. "It's life-saving."

No vote was taken Tuesday. The next step is the meeting between Maine and Martin Swims, with the November ballot deadline looming as the driving timeline.

This article was generated with AI assistance using publicly available information. It was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication. TC Sentinel uses AI writing tools in accordance with FTC guidelines.