Elementary students at Juneau’s Dzantik’i Heeni campus will continue playing on a dirt field for now.
The building in Lemon Creek previously housed middle schoolers before the district’s consolidation plan moved Juneau Community Charter School, Montessori Borealis and Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi High School onto the campus.
The Juneau School District and Juneau Assembly facilities committees met last week to discuss new playground designs. So far, the designs are not up to the state’s school playground construction standards. Some of the potential issues include drainage and snow removal.
School Board member Britteny Cioni-Haywood said it’s important to make sure the playground can be used by students and people in the surrounding neighborhood.
“This asset would be kind of dual purpose and that it would serve as a park for the community, but also is a playground for the schools that are in that building now,” she said.
This is the third round of designs for a playground. The initial design was estimated to cost $1.8 million dollars. And a second round of designs at roughly a third of that didn’t comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
While the city paid for designing the playground, the Assembly never committed any funds to build it. And now Juneau Engineering and Public Works Director Denise Koch said they’ve run out of design funds.
School Board President Deedie Sorensen said the district is looking for accessibility, a usable playground and fencing that can keep students safe during the day. But she says it’s taking too long.
“We need to move forward or these children who are there now will be graduating from high school and still playing in the street,” she said.
Juneau Assembly member Ella Adkison said a decision needs to be made on the playground, but that more money shouldn’t be spent on a new design.
“If we’re not spending money on a playground at that point, it feels like money out the door with no real results back,” Adkison said. “So I agree. I want to move forward. I am a little hesitant on going back to the drawing board in any way, shape or form.”
The committee decided not to bring any plans before the Assembly just yet.