The La Jolla Recreation Center drops from 60 to 40 open hours per week starting Saturday, Aug. 29, with the building closed all day Mondays.

The new schedule, reported by La Jolla Light, runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Outdoor spaces will remain open Mondays, and city staff is working to keep restrooms accessible during the day.

Previously, the center at 615 Prospect St. was open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The San Diego City Council approved the cuts unanimously on June 10 as part of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. La Jolla Community Recreation Group (CRG) Chair Alan Dulgeroff said at the group's June 24 meeting that the city funded police license plate readers instead of fully restoring recreation center hours. He estimated the annual savings at roughly $80,000.

The budget reduction also means center director Nick Volpe is now the sole full-time employee. The assistant director was reassigned.

The CRG had proposed keeping Mondays open from noon to 4 p.m. and shifting other days to shorter windows. Parks & Recreation District Manager Jerry Abbott told the CRG at its Wednesday, Aug. 26, meeting that a four-hour Monday shift for Volpe would not be feasible under staff scheduling rules.

"I just want to be able to have the Rec Center available for the kids in the community, and however we can make that happen is probably the best way," Volpe said at the Aug. 26 meeting.

CRG member Mary Munk stressed the center's broader role. "This is a community center," she said. "Recreation is a huge part, but community is the heart of all of it."

Abbott said he will collect community feedback over the next month or two, through Volpe and the CRG, and will adjust the schedule if resident input supports changes. He is also exploring whether the rec center fund, a budget line reserved for equipment and repairs, could cover additional hours, and whether the nonprofit Friends of the La Jolla Recreation Center could donate funds for more staff time.

Dulgeroff said he is open to the donation idea but cautious. "Counting on donations to keep the center open during … what we would expect for basic hours, I think, is risky," he said at the same meeting.

Abbott is scheduled to return to the CRG on Wednesday, Sept. 23, to collect feedback on the new schedule. The mechanism for submitting public input before that meeting has not been specified.