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BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. August may not be the ideal time to ask the public for school money, but Briarcliff School District officials said they are hopeful residents will make an exception in the case of a new playground proposal at Todd Elementary School.
The Briarcliff School District is proposing to spend $160,000 on construction of a new playground for the kindergarten through second-grade students at Todd. The public is asked to vote on the proposal from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Todd Elementary gymnasium. If the proposition is passed, officials said the playground would be constructed in the same location as the aging playground, which was removed earlier this year by the second week of September, according to school documents.
The funding for the construction is set to come out of unassigned fund balance after officials discovered earlier this year that they could not authorize exceeding $10,000 on construction of new playground equipment without a public vote.
Its not an ideal time for this, said Stuart Mattey, the districts assistant superintendent, at a June board meeting. We recognize this is a difficult time to give everyone the heads up. If we delay it, the timing of constructing the playground before school begins becomes cumbersome, he said.
The plans include the removal of all pea gravel and placement of the structure on a new rubberized fall zone area similar to that of the three to five playground. The proposed playground design was previously chosen by a committee of teachers and parents with a focus on early childhood education.
Board Vice President Jennifer Rosen agrees the timing is not ideal but said previously the proposal is necessary.
Its more important for us to get the playground in before school starts, Rosen said in June.
Those with questions are asked to contact Mattey at 941-8880 ext. 4016.
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