Carson City Aquatic Center limits summer swim lessons; lifeguard staffing falls to 50 percent
The lifeguard staffing issue continues at the Carson City Aquatic Center, which has seen a critical shortage in employees over the past several years.
According to Recreation Superintendent Dan Earp, staffing has now fallen to 50 percent, which means that of the jobs offered, only half have been filled.
“Where we feel it the most is in our swim lesson program where we are currently only offering about 60 percent of normal,” said Earp.
Currently, the pool has had to reduce swim lessons by about 40 percent, and are only allowing registrations for one session at a time, which gives some wiggle room in case staffing increases and they’re able to add more lessons or sessions later on.
The outdoor pool will remain closed this summer but the reason isn’t due to staffing, said Earp, but rather because it needs to undergo maintenance projects.
One issue with staffing could be the pay. Because the pay is set at the city level, and can only be increased by the Carson City Board of Supervisors during a budget session, pay throughout city has remained stagnant.
However, in order to help mitigate this, Parks and Recreation asked for an increase of pay to go into effect at the next budget cycle which begins on July 1. The Board of Supervisors granted the request, and will increase lifeguard pay by $1.50 an hour, bringing the total to around $11.
In addition, Earp said they have created a new full-time Lifeguard Supervisor position.
“The Lifeguard Supervisor will primarily be used to fill lifeguard shifts with the benefit of having this person around for 40 hours a week,” said Earp. “This should reduce pool closures due to low-staffing.”
The Lifeguard Supervisor, along with all our other seasonal position is currently open online at www.carson.org/jobs