Safety risks at Algonquin school playground raise bigger question: Who should pay for equipment?

When Sara Pahl took her child to the Neubert Elementary School playground in Algonquin, she noticed loose monkey bars and rusted equipment, along with safety cones and caution tape over some of the structures.

Pahl and multiple parents are banding together to raise concerns over the safety conditions of the playground in hopes District 300 funds a playground that is safe and continues to fit maintenance costs in the budget.

Parent Kristen Grant said the playground at Kenneth E. Neubert Elementary School, located at 1100 Huntington Drive in Algonquin-based District 300, has platforms that are “corroded, jagged and rusty.”

“This is a playground that didn’t become a dilapidated, unsafe problem overnight,” Grant said. “That to me is a glaring issue.”

Pahl, who has a son in first grade at Neubert, said she’s been asking for renovations for over a year.

Following such concerns, the district recently fenced off some of the playground equipment to prevent access and said it will make “critical safety-related repairs.”

But Pahl and other parents say there’s a bigger issue, that playgrounds not be something schools rely on parent-teacher groups to fund or supplement. She said answers on when safety inspections are done and if the PTO will be expected to pay for updates beyond basic safety measures remains unanswered.

“As a parent and an educator dedicated to the well-being of our children, I believe it is unacceptable that our playground facilities remain unsafe and underfunded,” she said at a recent District 300 school board meeting.

Grant noticed the “extreme condition” of the playground at the start of this school year. When she asked her daughter about the playground, her daughter said it’s “terrible.”

“If you are going kick off a new school year, why are you not examining the condition of those items and making sure those are appropriate, safe and acceptable as your new students are going to be coming to that school?” Grant said.

District 300 Superintendent Martina Smith sent an email to Neubert families Friday evening addressing the concerns and said immediate measures are being put in place, including temporary fencing around equipment that will be repaired or replaced, staffing playground supervisors and the expedited delivery of needed parts for repair.

“Ensuring the safety of our students is my top priority, and the district is working diligently to ensure the playground is safe for all students,” Smith said in the email.

The monkey bar swivel, slide, play panels and chimney climber will be replaced in an estimated three weeks, Smith said.

“We understand that there are immediate needs for the playground,” Smith said in the email. “District 300 is fully committed to covering the costs of critical safety-related repairs from our operating budget.”

The district is also starting the process of creating a new long-term master facility plan. In the plan, the district will identify improvement areas and explore how fund the improvements. All of the districts playgrounds will be reviewed for the plan, Smith said. District 300 will be hosting community feedback sessions in October where families can provide input.

Grant said she is glad to see Neubert’s playground roped off, but hopes the district will continue to support and communicate with parents.

“I’ll get in the ditches and I’ll do some fundraising, but tell me what the goal is,” Grant said. “Tell me what we need to achieve and work together to create that solution.”

Some of the parents plan to speak at the next board meeting on Oct. 8 wearing blue to show solidarity. Despite the playgrounds being in the master facility plan, Pahl said the playground needs fixing as soon as possible.

Pahl said the district’s response so far is “not enough.”

“They need to fund parks and not only critical safety repairs. ... They need to admit playgrounds are theirs to fund and not the PTO. They need to be accessible for all children,” Pahl said. “They need to make this a priority in their budget and start creating a system to update, maintain, and replace parks.”