On May 17, voters in the Springs School District will have a chance to weigh in not just on the school budget and board candidates, but also on a proposition asking for permission to spend up to $480,000 on a new playground. On Tuesday, district officials gave voters a preview of what that playground would actually look like.
Renderings of the project, developed specially for kindergartners and first and second graders, show, among many elements, a swing set, multiple slides, a climbing wall, and a playhouse. (Separate playgrounds for older children and the prekindergarten classes are already in place.) The images can be viewed via the BoardDocs database, accessible from the district’s website, springsschool.org.
Still open for discussion is the play surface, which could be natural wood chips or a type of rubber mat. Debra Winter, the district superintendent, explained that the request for cost estimates from builders asks them to provide prices for different types of surface materials. “Prices are going up . . . but we would really prefer the mat,” she said.
Kristy Lamonda, a Springs special education teacher, urged the administration to reinstall the handicap-accessible swing that was added several years ago by girl scouts who raised the money for it. The swing was moved into storage during the major construction project that the school is now wrapping up. Inclusivity, Ms. Lamonda said, is very important, but the design shown on Tuesday did not show the swing in place.
“We were told at the time that it’s going to be incorporated into the next playground,” Ms. Lamonda said. “We are hoping that somehow all this hard work that the girls put in . . . is going to be incorporated in one of our playgrounds.”
She later explained by email that “many of our students have sensory needs. The vestibular input gained from swinging rhythmically helps them regulate their bodies and is a necessary part of their day.”
Ms. Winter replied during the board meeting that she expects the swing to be installed off a concrete walkway near the playground.
The playground design incorporated comments from a committee that included parents, teachers, and administrators. It has been vetted by the district’s insurance company, Ms. Winter said, which avoids the issue that arose with one of the school’s other playgrounds last fall. One piece of equipment had to be removed, and the floor mat repaired, when the insurance company objected after it had already been built.
The cost of the new playground is not expected to increase taxes, district officials have said, because additional money will not need to be raised. Residents are required by state law to vote whenever a school district wants to use money from its capital reserve.