Getting a New School Playground

When our daughter was in elementary school, we did this.
It was at the time, expected to be about $55K.

We first asked the school district if they could work with us on the project. At the time they said they could offer the old playscape be torn down and taken away and they would prep the grounds on the school property. They also would pay for the Survey, the ground fill and a cement edge to go all around it. The city said they would pay for the sidewalks, so they would meet the ADA requirements.

The playground company gave us a discount by offering parents a chance to help put the playground together. It took about 5 hours one Saturday morning. I think about 50 parents showed up to help. The company supervised us. Of course in the end they inspected it and made adjustments, but this saved us a lot of money.

We then made a long range plan for 3 years to raise the funds.

The annual School Carnival and Auction funds would all go towards this project. At the time, we used to raise about 12K to 15K per year.

It was mostly the Auctions that brought in the most money.

Parents used to donate their Lake homes for a week, or Ski Homes, Homes, We even had a Grandparent donate a week at their home on the Florida coast!

Also for these 3 years, a local lumber company donated lumber and supplies, so that a Playhouse could be built (by parents) and then auctioned! It was always very well made and super cute. The parents built it right out in front of the School. You can imagine the excitement. We paid for a delivery company to deliver it to the winners home. This company gave us a discount.

Some people auctioned off Dinner parties at their homes..
One dad was in a Band, he offered his band to play at an event.
Babysitting.. all sorts of great ideas.

Eventually, the school district, put in Benches and a water fountain.

It can be done, but it did take a few years to raise the funds, but it is still there today. It has been about 15 years now.. The kids were so excited during the planning stages. They used the kids ideas, and wishes in the planning.

Just a suggestion that you include a budget for maintenance. Our local elementary school did this some 20 years ago - a spectacular play space. But within a few years, things fell apart little by little and there was zero money to fix it beyond what the custodian could do with a screwdriver. After about 10 years there were a couple of serious injuries, and about 8 years ago the whole entire thing was torn down. It is a disgrace! What a loss.

I'd say to keep mixing up the fundraising.

One of the best for ongoing income at no extra cost to the parents is selling scrip - gift cards for supermarkets and so on. You make 2%-5% on everything and it's money the parents and other members of the community would spend anyway. People without kids, grandparents, others will often participate. One of our organizations just ran something with a time limit, but they had over 25 businesses (mostly chains) as part of it. It's not glamourous and it doesn't constitute an event, but it's reliable and doesn't require people to fork over more cash. You need a couple of people with outstanding administrative and accounting skills, and a bunch more to promote it and have a table at school events to kind of be in people's faces, but you're probably doing that anyway.

My kids' school is fundraising for a new playground. I'm not sure what company they are going with, but I know they did a ton of research on safety and cost. I know a huge part of it was finding the safest ground cover for under the equipment. I don't want to post their website publicly, but if you want I can PM it to you.

They have done a ton of fundraising:
walk-a-thon
Chipotle night
A local pizza place has had some fundraiser nights
Harlem Wizards Basketball game
Carnival
Book fairs
Personalized bricks to pave a sidewalk
Huge garage sale
Cookbook sale
Coupon book sale
Our statewide GiveMn website
Grants
Corporate sponsorship with the brick sales
And they have tons more planned for next year.

Our elementary PTO did a new playground project that was before my time, and it was one of the best things ever for the school. There are actually three playground areas, separated from each other by open space. Generally once is used by the Kindergartens, the other by grades 1-3, and the third by grades 4-6.

I can tell you this is a lifetime project, not a one-and-done. Every year going forward the PTO will need to budget funds to set aside for future maintenance, so plan ahead for the permanent increase in annual costs.

We are in a K-5 public school in a downtown area. We have very little green space but had to put in two playground - one for K-2 and one for 3-5. Very expensive with all the ADA and permit expenses. Started in 2012 and just "finished" but you are never done. Our HSA (home school association) has spent $105K so far...

Good luck! Still not sure why this wasn't paid for through our taxes.

Our K-5 elementary schools have 2 separate play areas.

One is geared for grades 3-5 and one geared k-2. A large concrete area with basketball goals is in the middle.

Our play grounds are huge.

As for fundraising... Write a check campaign, sell spirit wear, silent auction, walk a thon

Be sure to include all stakeholders in the planning and design.
Administration
School Buildings and Grounds Administrator
Teachers
Parents
Department of Public Works
Town ADA Committee
Check the State of MA for rules and regulations.

And many kudos for your efforts!

Separate them as much as possible.

Planning a play ground is a fun and enjoyable job. There are so very many things to consider. Material, fall material, 2 playgrounds for various ages or single multilevel structure. What to have in it, what to pass on. Injury prevention plus taking care of it once it's up.

I hope you'll look at Island Park in Winfield Kansas and think about the choices they've made over the years.

I truly think the board that developed this park and rebuilt it a couple of times has the right idea. They did fund raising in their community and got some businesses to match funds too. They got corporate sponsors and that helped a lot. Island Park is worth going out of your way from I-35 for 20 minutes to have an hour or two of extreme fun with the kids.

The first time we went to Island Park it had some sand and some areas with shredded tires. The playground had a truck the kids could "drive", water misters, handicap swings and ramps to most areas, a toddler and pre-school playground separate...it even had a western storefront facade for pretend play, there was a fence around the entire play area and the only way in and out was through one gate. That was awesome because you could let the kids run amok without fear of them wandering off or being taken by someone. Parents could see the kids from many vantage points too.

I know your funds aren't anything near this but I think the story of this park could be very helpful in that they did make some mistakes but they did a LOT more right.

They used tires in some areas at first. When the playground was set on fire it burned for days, mostly from the tires but the composite material for the structure also burned for some time. It did burn a second time too. The material for the structure was awesome though. No splinters, no rusting metal shards, no oil from squeaky areas that have been oiled, nothing like that. Just clean smooth to the touch posts and walls and floors that are a nice feeling for kids.

Here are some links to stories and photos.

This is a shot of the park we loved the most, it was there from the mid 2000's up til the fire in 2013. That fire truck on the far right was the best, the kids loved it and would play on it almost as much as the towers. They loved the little kids play area too and the music tubes. They could bang and play music and it was heard all over the park. It was wonderful.

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/74106514

This is the park they rebuilt in 2014. It's very nice too. Some changes but it's still the best park ever.

http://www.winfieldks.org/index.aspx?NID=62

My point is that even though this park did burn down it was built to last and was completely safe for the kids. It's an amazing structure and it's well thought out and planned for the needs of everyone who comes to visit.