Houston is gearing up to open 34 of its 37 public pools this summer, with crews racing to finish maintenance and bigger repair jobs at the remaining three sites. The Parks and Recreation Department expects to have 10 pools operating over Memorial Day weekend as it builds up staffing and finishes training for the full season. Officials say recent pay increases and a hard push on hiring have put the city in a better spot than in past summers, although families are still being urged to double-check schedules before heading out since openings will roll out in phases.
According to Community Impact, Parks Director Kenneth Allen told city leaders the department expects at least 34 pools to be operating on a full-time schedule once school lets out, with three pools sidelined for maintenance. Community Impact also reported that Allen presented a proposed parks budget of $106.4 million and described pay bumps of about $2 an hour across lifeguard classifications in the FY 2026-27 budget plan.
Staffing Push Brings In Younger Lifeguards
The city has widened its recruiting net, visiting high schools, holding job fairs and doing on-site hiring and processing, and it has lowered the minimum age for lifeguards to 15 with parental consent in order to expand the candidate pool, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. Officials say that broader outreach and a smoother certification process helped the aquatics team get ahead of the staffing gaps that hampered pool openings last summer.
Wages and Incentives Aimed at Retention
The city's aquatics hiring materials list starting pay for lifeguards at about $16 an hour, head guards at roughly $18 an hour and supervisors near $20 an hour, along with an incentive program that offers $250 at hiring and another $250 at the end of the season for qualifying workers. The department says those raises and bonuses are intended to cut down on turnover and to support more frequent rotation on the pool deck so staff can stay sharp in Houston’s heat. (city hiring materials.)
Which Pools Will Stay Offline
The parks department says three community pools will remain closed this summer for maintenance work, and it has identified Tidwell Pool as a longer-term rebuild that will not reopen this season, according to Community Impact. That leaves some neighborhoods without a nearby public pool even as most of the city’s system returns.
Budget Schedule and What’s Next
The parks budget is on the city’s FY2027 workshop calendar, with department briefings and public workshops running through mid-May as City Council reviews the mayor’s proposed figures. The city’s fiscal calendar shows that the next budget year begins July 1, 2026, so any pay or staffing changes that win approval in the coming weeks would take effect at the start of that fiscal year. (City Council budget page.)
What Residents Should Know
Because pool schedules will ramp up in stages, residents are encouraged to check with their neighborhood community center or the Parks and Recreation office for the latest hours before heading out. The department is still hiring seasonal lifeguards and is encouraging applicants 15 and older to apply, noting that the jobs can serve as an entry point to summer work and additional training.
