MILTON — The Milton School Board may soon approve the purchase of new playground equipment at Northside Intermediate School, the first time in its history for such an upgrade.
The board is expected to take action Feb. 9.
Northside, which is at 448 E. High St. in Milton, opened in 1993. The equipment that is up for replacement is in the southwest part of the playground, which has become “a high-priority need,” according to a memo to the school board from Director of Buildings and Grounds Stephen Schantz. In that same memo, Schantz wrote that there are sections that have surface peeling, cracks in plastic components and rust deterioration in metal components.
The expected lifespan of the equipment, according to the memo, is 20 years.
The overall project would cost $250,000. It would include buying the new equipment, installing the new equipment and the new wood fiber surface. The district would take care of demolition and site preparation. If it is approved, the project would be finished in June after the 2025-26 school year.
The Friends of Northside Parents Group, the parents organization that typically provides financial support for projects at the school, has recently financially supported projects to replace basketball hoops and rims.
“The size and scale of this project, replacing it through a fundraising effort is just not feasible,” Schantz told the school board on Monday.
According to the memo, the way the playground equipment sits is grandfathered into today’s playground codes and standards. The district cannot take a phased approach with updating the equipment. It will have to update it all once.
Schantz told the board that the new equipment would have 31 different stations that would be ADA (American Disabilities Act)-accessible, as well as ADA-accessible swings.
“It really is a tremendous upgrade on that front as well,” Schantz said.
Principal Jennifer Cramer told The 69 Tuesday it would not be an issue if installation is done in June because the footprint of the playground offers many other options for students, including basketball, a small piece of playground equipment on the north side of the building and gagaball, which is a variant of dodgeball that’s played in an octagonal structure called a “pit.”
Manufacturers of the game call it a “kinder gentler version” of dodgeball that combines the skills of dodging, striking, running and jumping while trying to hit opponents with a ball below the knees.
“It will be a barrier, but one we can work around for the small amount of time that students are out in between classes,” Cramer wrote in an email to The 69.
The district has been working with Blue Mounds-based Gerber Leisure Products to develop a design that would meet current standards and “provide a fresh layout,” according to a memo from Schantz.
The finance committee recommended approval of the project on Jan. 19.
