I'm feeling pretty lucky now. My local pool is city owned, and while it probably doesn't get the funding it ought to, the specs seem okay. It's a half olympic size, deep enough (I think -- 3.5 feet at one end, 12 feet at the other), they teach elementary backstroke (among others) starting at the very first level, and while I'm not sure if the lifeguards are all Red Cross certified, I'd be willing to bet they are, since the pool has courses to become a Red Cross certified lifeguard (and it's really not that expensive).