AMY SZPARA

PHOTO 1: The swings at John L. Ory Magnet School are in need of repair, along with the basketball nets and other equipment. School officials are attempting to rectify the situation prior to the new school year beginning in August. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) LAPLACE – Most children when asked what their favorite thing about school is will answer that they like recess best, but when playground equipment is not up to par, break time can be more frustrating than fun. That is what some St. John Parish School System administrators and School Board members are trying to remedy before school starts back in August. They want to make sure that the kids have a place to play. When School Board member Russ Wise’s son came home one day and told him that they couldn’t play on the playground because some of the equipment was off limits, he thought he would check out not only his son’s school, but all the public schools in the parish. “I’m the only School Board member with a child in school. When I asked my son what he had done at school one day, and he said, Not much because we can’t play on the monkey bars,’ I called the principal to find out what was going on,” said Wise. PHOTO 2: The tire swing at John L. Ory Magnet School has nothing but a cement slab beneath it. The rubber and carpet paddings have been worn through from playing, which eliminates padding if children should fall. (Staff Photo by Amy Szpara) Teri Noel, principal at John L. Ory Magnet School, told Wise that she had phoned the St. John School Board central office about the need for updating the playground to meet required standards. At the next School Board meeting, in July, the state of all public school playgrounds will be addressed, school system officials said. “We have the attitude in this system that we can build the school and leave everything afterwards up to the parents. The idea of opening a school without a playground is ludicrous,” said Wise. But that is just what John L. Ory and other schools in the parish had to do, he added. “The things that have been bought over the years and installed were done so by parents,” Wise said. “The PTO had to raise money for the equipment at John L. Ory. And I spent a sweaty afternoon putting up the equipment with other dads.” Noel said that it is usually the parents who see playgrounds as an important part of a school. “Community children also play here after hours,” she said, looking at the swings that were broken. “If schools are going to be viewed as part of the community, they need to be maintained.” Mestayer, Darby and Partner Architects, the St. John School Board Architectural Firm, recently conducted an inspection report of St. John public school playgrounds. East St. John Elementary, Fifth Ward Elementary, Garyville/Mt. Airy Math and Science Magnet School, Glade Elementary, John L. Ory Magnet, West St. John Elementary and the Child Development Center playgrounds were all included in the report. Some of the problems found were low grounds under equipment that floods during rain, a lack of cushion under equipment such as mulching, protruding steel that could snag clothing or cut children, ladder rungs that are not up to standards, old equipment that is no longer used and is hazardous and S-hooks that are not completely closed supporting swings. Though Noel said that most of the violations can be repaired at minimal cost to the system and quickly before classes resume in August, the board must first approve the corrective measures suggested by the architectural firm, which is expected to happen in early July. “Kids need a little time to run around and let off steam,” Wise said. “We now have federal standards that have to be met. My main goal this summer is to get it ready for when school starts. “I can’t imagine anything more frustrating to a third grader than to be able to look at the playground but not be able to play. That is quite a hardship for an eight year old.” According to Alton Darby, School Board architect, the playgrounds do need quite a bit done to them in order to meet the federal requirements. At the June 21 School Board meeting, he addressed the board, stating, “They (the school playgrounds) need a lot of work.” He said that the protective surfacing and the holes under the slides that fill with water after a rain are two of the biggest problems. Wise added that at the next meeting they will discuss all possibilities for getting the playgrounds in order before mid-August. “If it’s necessary to declare it an emergency to get it done, we will,” he said.