Sacajawea, Lincoln, Chief Jo install new playground equipment - The Electric

Sacajawea Elementary is hosting a ribbon cutting for their new inclusive playground at 9 a.m. Sept. 12.

The playground was a dream in October 2021.

The Sacajawea PTA formed a playground committee in January 2022 and from the time they sent home their first fundraising mailer in November 2022, they met their goal in 18 months.

That goal was about $400,000, which they accomplished in May 2024.

By June, playground work and removal of old equipment was underway and the new equipment was installed and poured in August, just in time for the start of the school year, according to Sarah Goldsmith, Sacajawea PTA president.

The playground is fully inclusive with sections of poured in place rubber surfacing providing access to a large play structure as well as stand alone equipment.

Chief Jo making first phase of playground improvements

The inclusive playground was important to Goldsmith, who went into labor at 22 weeks and gave birth to twin girls at 25 weeks.

Izzy and Olivia were both just one pound when they were born and had a slim chance of survival.

Izzy underwent five brain surgeries in the NICU while Olivia had severe respiratory difficulties.

Izzy has cerebral palsy and requires a wheelchair or walker. She hadn’t been able to play on the school playground with her sister or other classmates during recess before since her wheelchair couldn’t make it through the pea gravel.

The twins are now in fourth grade at Sacajawea and for the first time, Izzy is now able to join her sister on the playground, according to her mom. Their younger sister is in kindergarten this year.

“It is a dream come true to have this project come to fruition. I am so thankful for such a supportive school and community who all worked hard to make this possible. My twins were just first graders when this dream started, and we are thrilled they will get to enjoy it together and with friends for years to come. Having an inclusive playground is also really beneficial to the typical kids-they get to learn about differences, disability and inclusion first-hand,” Goldsmith. “Being a disability family, we have a unique lens. My mind is always thinking one step ahead about accessibility. Is the place we are going accessible? If not, is there someone that can help me lift? Is the bathroom accessible? Are there stairs? There has been a lot of progress since ADA was passed in 1990, but we have a long way to go and mountains to move. We have been given the gift of raising a child with disabilities and that has opened us up to continually look for opportunities for inclusion. We have met some incredible people along the way with this project and journey.”

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The new playground costs were:

The team raised $121,073 through school fundraisers and $206,285 from private donors. They also received $55,000 in grants this year, with the possibility of another $20,000 next year for swings through a grant and match, Goldsmith said.

Lincoln Elementary also held a ribbon cutting for their new upper playground in August. The Lincoln PTA kicked off their fundraiser in May 2023 for the new playground equipment.

Chief Joseph Elementary School completed the first phase of their playground project this summer.

Principal Andrea Thares told the Great Falls Public Schools board during their May 13 meeting that they have some structures on the playground that aren’t safe so they had to be boarded off. During that meeting, she told the board that the PTA and teachers had worked to raise enough to fund that phase, which is $13,573.52 without demolition and $16,073.52 if the district has the old equipment removed.

Staff said GFPS can complete the demolition within the scope of their summer work at no additional charge to the Chief Jo PTA.

Chief Jo used the district’s procedure that was established earlier this year to work in conjunction with schools and the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation, TD&H evaluated the playground and reported that replacing the components in the first phase at Chief Jo doesn’t trigger ADA compliance, so they can move forward with the project with the dollars they’ve raised so far.

Thares said in May that the Chief Jo building is turning 60 soon and she was hoping to have the first phase completed by then.

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The school and PTA are continuing to fundraise for the second phase, which includes replacing the whole structure on the west side of the playground, which is more expensive.

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Thares told The Electric that local resident Jake Fenner had approached several businesses over the summer to fundraise toward a new playground and presented her with a $10,000 check.

Thares said the new equipment for phase one was being installed the night Fenner came to visit her and that those funds would be applied toward the second phase.

“We still have a long way to go,” she said.

The PTA is considering two quotes for that phase and both are more than $100,000, she said. The group was just under the halfway mark at the end of August, she said.

GFPS officials sat down with The Electric in April to talk about the process of funding school playgrounds, which are expensive and subject to federal accessibility laws and insurance requirements.

GFPS maintains 16 elementary school playgrounds and when pieces break, they can’t be replaced with pieces ordered online or with duct tape, according to district officials.

Superintendent Heather Hoyer said that district officials worked with the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation to develop a process for fundraising for playgrounds.

She said people like to donate for playgrounds, but it takes more than small fundraisers like cookie dough sales to fund playground improvements, which can range from $200,000 to $400,000.

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Brian Patrick, GFPS’ business operations manager, said that the playgrounds have to meet the federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and the rules changed years ago so that if the district is to make a change to a playground, it triggers a requirement to ensure a certain percentage of the playground is ADA compliant.

Hoyer said the district has to take the wider view in terms of funding, safety, and ADA requirements for playgrounds.

Lance Boyd, a GFPS assistant superintendent, said that the district has aging playgrounds and it’s getting harder to find parts, which have to be purchased from the manufacturer and can’t be purchased off Amazon.

Patrick said the insurance company also has to approve of those pieces and improvements.

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Patrick said playground pieces are expensive, but most modern playground equipment is durable and longer lasting, making them worth the investment.

“The community has been amazing through the years,” Patrick said of individuals and school PTAs for donating and fundraising for playgrounds.

He said the district is now taking a more active role by developing the process and working with the foundation for playground improvements.

Hoyer said the process involves a school administrator or PTA coming up with a vision for their playground; then meeting with district administration, including the buildings and grounds managers, to look at the project from the district perspective and ensure they understand pieces like ground work and safety.

Then they work with TD&H Engineering for an analysis of the playground to ensure the project will meet ADA requirements or if additional work is needed, such a ground work.

Then they’ll present to the school board for review.

Once the school board signs off, fundraising begins in earnest and once funds are raised, they can purchase and install the playground pieces.

Hoyer said she expects more projects to come through this process in the near future.

The process allows the district to honor donor wishes and ensure playground projects fit within the district’s facility schedule, as there’s often a lot of projects going on, Hoyer said.

Hoyer said some schools come up with plans for full playground replacements, while others have to do their projects in phases due to the cost.

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Hoyer said the foundation has found that the playgrounds that get improved quickly typically have one large donor, since smaller fundraisers don’t raise enough.

Former Superintendent Tom Moore said that playgrounds have been replaced at Longfellow, Giant Springs, Riverview Meadow Lark and Whittier.

Costs have ranged from $200,000 to $400,000, which isn’t something available in the district’s overall budget, he said.

Moore said that when the district and school board were developing the bond levy in 2016, they wanted to keep it under $100 million, so playgrounds weren’t high on the priority list, leaving them largely up to PTAs.

He said the district is responsible for maintenance, safety and ADA compliance, which is complex and expensive.

Meadow Lark had active PTA involvement to fundraise for a new playground, something the district and foundation learned from, Moore said.

He said playground improvements have to be coordinated within the district’s overall facility needs and that the district has to provide equity to help the schools that don’t have an active or resource-rich PTA.

In the case of Whittier Elementary’s newer playground, the district received federal Community Development Block Grant funds through the city for public improvements in low- to moderate-income areas.

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Boyd said West Elementary would also qualify for CDBG funds and they were talking to the city for that potential future project.

Boyd said that every school has issues with vandalism that the district, and students, have to deal with the consequences of adult behavior.

The district closed the Whittier playground to the public for awhile after adults vandalized the area shortly after the new playground was installed for roughly $250,000. The playground was reopened this spring.

Boyd said the district does building and playground walkthroughs with focuses on student safety.

Some schools have large playground areas and they have to figure out whether to fence the whole area or parts of it and other ways to ensure student safety, Boyd said.

Patrick said the insurance company sends a team annually to walkthrough and evaluate buildings and playgrounds and they provide recommendations on safety.

“Insurance companies are a big deal in this equation,” Moore said, and those requirements drive a lot of what the district can afford to do.

Patrick said the district funds safety and maintenance through the overall budget, but there’s not enough funding to replace aging playground equipment at all schools.

Patrick said in April that about a third of the elementary school playgrounds still need upgrades.

Since 2018, seven elementary playgrounds had been addressed, and now Sacajawea and Lincoln have been added to the list, as well as the first phase of Chief Jo, with Mountain View in the queue.

If community members want to donate toward playground improvements, they can call the foundation or if they want to help a specific school, call the principal to find out their plans and needs.

*Photo Sacajawea PTA