‘Common sense’ murky in Dist. 128 pool dilemma

District 128 school Superintendent Prentiss Lea told his school board Monday night he’s hoping that “common sense prevails” and the swimming pools at Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools can somehow remain open this year.

But the definition of “common sense” in this case is by no means clear.

As things stand now, the school district’s pools will close Saturday because District 128 missed a state-imposed deadline to fix a dangerous design flaw in the drains that can lead to serious injury or death. A Daily Herald/ABC 7 Chicago report in August 2010 detailed the problem affecting scores of public swimming pools throughout the suburbs, and the state set an Oct. 1, 2011, deadline for repairs at all school swimming pools.

Apparently, someone at District 128 was getting notices of the deadline but failed to notify higher-ups. Not until a new employee arrived on the scene this summer was the oversight caught, and, when two previous design proposals were rejected, District 128 ran out of time to make the repairs.

So, to a degree, it’s hard to fault the school system for a “communications breakdown” — its own phrase — over which top administrators may have had little control. Nor is District 128 alone. According to The Associated Press, about 400 school districts across Illinois may miss the deadline and have to close their pools. And yet, one may well wonder what response a student in District 128 or one of these other schools would receive if he asked for an extension of a homework assignment because someone he was counting on hadn’t told him when it was due.

One also wonders about a communications system that can permit a single employee’s oversight to keep an entire district in the dark about any state requirement, much less one with life-threatening implications. Moreover, we can’t forget that even the Oct. 1 deadline is almost three years — three years — since a federal law required all public pools to complete the repairs.

Most important of all, what about those life-threatening implications? We’re not talking here about a term paper that can be turned in late with no potential impact on someone’s health. Our series described children who suffered serious organ damage because of the drains. Some who narrowly escaped death when they were sucked against them and held under water. Some who died. Is it “common sense” to continue to risk such dangers? What liability issues will District 128, or any other noncompliant pool, face if an accident occurs after Oct. 1?

We do not like to think of the inconveniences and the disruptions that District 128 students, the innocents in all this, will experience if the pools are forced to remain closed, and perhaps there is some “common sense” solution that can minimize their exposure to the problem and enable the pools to remain open a while longer.

But we like less to think of the consequences of an accident if the pools remain open. That thought must be paramount at District 128 and all school districts. Indeed, it’s the one place where any definition of “common sense” has to begin.