The De Soto School District has plans to make $352,800 in improvements to the playgrounds at its two elementary schools, creating an all-inclusive playground and nearly doubling the amount of play equipment at both Vineland and Athena elementary schools, Superintendent Josh Isaacson said.
Half the improvements will be funded with a $176,400 federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant administered through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks.
The school district, which is required to match the grant, will cover the other half of the cost, Isaacson said.
De Soto Board of Education members voted 7-0 on Nov. 15 to accept the grant money. In October, the school board amended the district’s 2018 budget to allocate $176,400 for the grant match.
“It’s an opportunity we just can’t pass up for our kids,” Isaacson said. “It’s long overdue. “
Isaacson said building the new playgrounds will be an involved process and he hopes to see them finished by the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
“There are steps we’ll have to be following,” he said. “It’s a federal grant. We have to get approvals from the Department of Natural Resources. We have to get the RFP (request for proposal) approval by March so we can begin construction on the playgrounds during the summer of 2019.”
Isaacson said the grant stipulates that the playgrounds must be open to any child, not just district students.
“Those playgrounds will be used by our students during school hours and will be open to the community in non-school hours,” he said.
Isaacson said he believes the playgrounds will attract youngsters from all around once the improvements are completed.
The district won’t replace the existing play equipment at the two schools but instead will add to them, he said.
Isaacson said the two new all-inclusive playgrounds won’t necessarily be identical, but approximately 3,000 square feet of playground space will be added at each of the schools.
“I would say that it will almost double the amount of playground equipment,” he said.
Isaacson said the district has been seeking input from booster club members to help determine what kind of equipment should be added to the playgrounds.
However, Isaacson said, the playgrounds will include equipment that makes sounds “for students with sensory needs.”
He said the playground also will include equipment for children in wheelchairs.
“The term all-inclusive means it’s for all children,” Isaacson said. “All children can play together.”
Isaacson said school officials are looking forward to offering children better play opportunities.
“I know the Board of Education is excited, and the administrators and our parents and boosters are all excited,” he said. “We’re excited for our kids.”
School officials appreciate the grant, Isaacson said.
“This is my third year as superintendent and we’ve received smaller grants before,” he said. “This is the largest one I’ve been involved with.”
Athena mom raises funds for new playgrounds
Isaacson said the district is seeking grants and other funding to help cover the cost of the grant match.
Lisa Goodwin, the mother of a third-grade Athena Elementary student who has special needs, started an effort in 2017 to raise funds for an all-inclusive playground at the school after he fell and broke a tooth on the existing equipment.
Goodwin said she would like the school to build something like Kade’s Playground in Herculaneum City Park but on a smaller scale.
Kade’s Playground, which cost $735,000, is an elaborate, all-inclusive playground with a rubberized play surface and a wide variety of equipment that children with special needs can use.
Goodwin set up a GoFundMe account that raised $5,000 for all-inclusive playgrounds at the De Soto elementary schools, and that amount was doubled when her husband, Michael, successfully obtained a $5,000 matching grant from his employer, Anheuser-Busch.
Isaacson said that $10,000 will go toward the district’s grant match.
Goodwin said she was thrilled to hear about the $176,400 grant the school district received to build the playgrounds.
“I’m just really excited to see the project start to come together,” she said. “This is really needed for the students with special needs and their classmates at Vineland and Athena. I’m excited the superintendent has worked hard to get grants and certainly appreciate the effort.”