Thirteen school pools face closure in December unless they can come up with the money to cover operating costs. (Canadian Press)

The clock is ticking for about a dozen Toronto schools faced with losing their swimming pools in December.

Communities have been told the pools will be mothballed unless hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised to cover operating costs.

Last year, the Toronto District School Board identified 39 pools slated to close, but money was found to keep many open.

In August, the province pledged $16 million for repair work on some pools and the money needed to continue to operate the individual pools is being raised through permit sales.

Community groups and organizations like the YMCA will rent the pools during the evenings to help defray the costs, but that only covers 26 of the 39 pools.

Now the deadline is approaching for the remaining 13.

Call for co-ordinated efforts

Janet Dabbrus has been fighting to save the pools for months.

Dabbrus says that based on data from both the city and the school board, the pools at risk serve some of Toronto's neediest families, and she's frustrated.

"There's a lot of finger pointing going on," she said. "There's nobody co-ordinating efforts in order to make this work."

At Queen Alexandra Public School, near Broadview Avenue and Dundas Street East, for example, more than 500 children take swimming lessons.

Michael Crowe has two children at Queen Alexandra and wants to keep the pools open, but raising the necessary money in a working-class neighbourhood is a problem.

"The kids in these areas need to have these faculties and they are essentially under assault," he said.

'An onerous task'

Communities have been told they can save their pools if they can attract thousands of dollars in rental fees to defray the operating costs.

"It's certainly an onerous task to raise $36,000 by December," said Crowe. "It's not a wealthy community where I could raise that in a few phone calls."

TDSB chair John Campbell sympathizes, but says it comes down to money.

"Are there pools in certain areas where there are perhaps more well-to-do communities that have swimming clubs? Yes there are. But those swimming clubs have demonstrated the need to keep these pools open," he said.

Campbell says the city should come to the rescue.

But the city says it already operates 33 TDSB pools and there's no more money coming.

The chair of the city's recreation committee, Coun. Janet Davis, says she understands the concerns, but there will be no new money for the pools.

Dabbrus says all sides agree that pools are important to the local communities, but without a monetary commitment, the pools will almost certainly be drained.

Toronto has 79 pools at schools, as well as 30 city-run indoor pools for its 2.5 million residents.