There is a deeply embarrassing and unacceptable failure in Central Unified School District — one that now demands immediate public accountability.

Central High School’s  boys water polo team just completed an undefeated season, won their league championship, and features two nationally ranked players: the league MVP (Top 50 in the nation) and the league goalie of the year (Top 50 nationally). Their excellence was formally recognized when the Fresno City Council declared Dec. 4 as “Central High School Men’s Water Polo Team Day.”

And yet this championship team — the pride of Central Unified — does not have a pool. Not even access to a practice space on their own campus.

• Central Unified expects its top athletes to leave campus every day just to practice.
• Practices start nearly an hour late while the team waits for transportation and available pool time.
• Players routinely get home after 7 p.m., exhausted, with homework still ahead of them.
• “Home” games aren’t even at home — they’re guests on someone else’s campus.

This situation isn’t just unfair. It’s unacceptable. And it’s a direct result of district mismanagement.

When the district redrew boundaries during the construction of Justin Garza High School, they forced many students out of Central East — a school with a pool and quality facilities — and moved them into Central High, which has none. Those boundary changes dramatically increased Central High’s enrollment. Yet, the district failed to plan, failed to invest, and failed to provide basic infrastructure that every other major campus in the district already has.

Meanwhile:

• Central East has a pool.
• Justin Garza has a pool and a football stadium.
• Central High — despite its success and its growing population — has no pool. The campus and its current facilities are in desperate need of upgrading, but the district is unwilling to do anything about that.

No Excuse for This Glaring Lack of Equity

For families, coaches, and the athletes themselves, the message is painfully clear: Students assigned to Central High are receiving less, simply because of where they live. That is inequity. And at this point, many see it as discrimination.

And to make the inequity even more blatant, Garza is currently undergoing new construction, expanding and improving its already well-equipped campus — while Central High still lacks the basic facility required for one of its most successful sports programs.

There is no excuse for this, and there is no excuse for why Central Unified cannot begin construction of a pool as soon as reasonably possible.

It is an embarrassment for the district that its championship nationally recognized water polo team is practicing in borrowed water.

Central Unified should have built a pool years ago. They should have planned for the influx of students before redrawing boundaries. And they should not be celebrating student-athletes publicly while failing them privately.

It’s time for real accountability. And it’s time for Central Unified to take immediate action to correct a problem they created and have ignored for far too long.

Families, coaches, and players are ready to speak — and they are demanding answers.

About the Author

Gabriel Suarez is the father of a player on the Central High water polo team.