BRIGHTON — Brighton Area Schools leaders approved new, accessible playground equipment at an elementary building Monday evening.
That approval then sparked a conversation about potentially making other elementary playgrounds in the district fully accessible.
The BAS Board of Education unanimously approved the purchase of new playground equipment for Hawkins Elementary School, 8900 Lee Road, at its April 28 meeting.
BAS accepted a quote from MidStates Recreation of Ohio for a fully rubber surface. The total cost is roughly $187,000. The Hawkins Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) will contribute $30,000 for the new equipment.
Secretary Angela Krebs made the motion to approve the full rubber surface, with support from Vice President Jennifer Marks. Other options were a wood-chipped surface, or a hybrid of the two. The rubber surface is more accessible for students with disabilities.
The BAS Board of Education unanimously approved the purchase of new playground equipment for Hawkins Elementary School, located at 8900 Lee Road, at its April 28 meeting.
“I think it’s important for our district to have a 100% accessible playground for the children in the community,” Krebs said.
The board also considered voting on accepting a donation from the Spencer Elementary School PTO for new playground equipment for the school, but it was ultimately tabled. The item was listed under “for future action” on Monday’s agenda, but Treasurer Ken Stahl recommended moving it for action.
The Spencer Elementary PTO is offering to donate $60,655 for a playground addition at the school, 10639 Spencer Road, for preschool and kindergarten students. Stahl noted the donation would fully fund addition.
More: Brighton School Board weighs playground options for Hawkins Elementary
The proposed playground addition is a wood-chipped base. Trustee Andy Storm suggested the district speak with the Spencer PTO about having a fully accessible playground, saying the district could pick up the cost for the accessible base.
“Let’s do it the right way — provide all the students that we want to have access to the equipment to have that full accessibility and pick up the delta as a district right away,” Storm said.
Trustee Alicia Urbain said she’s in favor of accessible equipment, but noted there aren’t any students at Spencer who need the accessible base currently. She was concerned about denying students the opportunity to have a new playground next year. Storm said a student could need the accessible equipment in the future.
Krebs said, “all playgrounds should have something accessible” at “a bare minimum.”
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President Roger Myers said the board can approve the donation for Spencer’s existing playground, but consider installing a fully accessible playground at Spencer in the future, just like the district is doing at Hawkins.
“I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive — I think we can do both,” Myers said.
Marks said the district needs to explore the costs of making all playgrounds accessible, noting she wants to see consistency. BAS Superintendent Matthew Outlaw said in the capital master plan, there’s a significant amount of money for playgrounds, and that accessibility is a major part of that.
“I want these for the children, but I think we also want to think about all children, and we want to make sure we have accessibility,” Krebs said.
Stahl ultimately withdrew his motion on the donation prior to a vote. The board next meets Monday, May 12.
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at [email protected]. Follow him on X @SalsaEvan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton Schools OKs new playground equipment for Hawkins Elementary
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