An inspection of Flossmoor School District 161’s elementary school playgrounds has confirmed what the district suspected: with “few exceptions,” the district’s playgrounds are in “poor shape,” per village documents. But what to do about that and when is complicated.
Associate Superintendent Frances LaBella during a board of education meeting Monday, June 28, provided the results of an inspection performed by the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District and assessments by Wold Architects and Team REIL Inc. A summary, which can be found here, cited plenty of work to be done and how to prioritize some of it.
But even getting to the priority fixes in a timely manner means finding materials and workers to do the jobs, LaBella said.
“What we’re finding in this environment is that both of those things are very hard to come by,” she said.
Board Vice President Cameron Nelson said while he does not want to see any schools with non-functioning playgrounds, the district needs to take into consideration the high cost of materials and labor right now.
Superintendent Dana Smith agreed, adding the district also needs to consider a number of community projects in progress. Those include the Village of Flossmoor’s drainage improvement project, especially in the Heather Hill subdivision, which would bring a pipe directly through a playground there.
“I think everyone would feel great about replacing these playgrounds now,” Smith said. “I would strongly advise against it. This price tag is going to come in somewhere around $1.2 million or higher.”
LaBella added that while the district is looking to make some fixes immediately, finishing significant work before the students’ August return seems unlikely.
“Realistically, even the playgrounds that are in the worst shape, we don’t have the time to get them done before school starts,” she said.
So the question is becoming how aggressive does the board want to be in fixing the playgrounds, which needs are the biggest and how District 161 can get them in the best shape possible before school starts.
LaBella said some work could be done while the students are in session, but then they would not have anywhere to go for recess. Many of the schools in the district still have at least one operational playground, but changes may be needed to the usual schedules and how different age groups are spread out, LaBella said.
How administrators can restrict access where safety is a concern is another question, LaBella said. In general, the problems are with certain pieces of the playgrounds, not entire structures in disrepair. Some of those pieces, such as swings, can be taken down easily. Others may require different solutions. But administrators will figure it out, she said.
“We’re not going to put a child on it if we think there is danger,” LaBella said.
More discussion on the subject is expected July 19.
Camp to continue for fifth-graders
The school board voted unanimously to approve four contracts totaling $70,146 with Camp Timber-lee of Wisconsin to continue to allow fifth-grade students in the district to make trips to the camp in the 2021-2022 school year.
Student contributions are to be set at a later date, and those will reduce the overall cost to the district, according to a report from Smith. If the district has to cancel participation, it forfeits 10% of the anticipated final bill but is otherwise refunded as long as the camp is notified at least 30 days prior to the first camping date, he added. After that, the district would pay 50% of its minimum guarantee to Camp Timber-lee.