Funding comes from surplus accounts
By:Sally Goldenberg
Now that the Manville Board of Education has selected an engineer, a project to upgrade the Weston Elementary School playground is under way.
The engineer, Suburban Consulting Engineers Inc., will evaluate the land surrounding the school to determine how to proceed with the project. The firm has not offered any cost projections for the work yet.
"It is just in the infant stages right now," said Business Administrator Richard Reilly. "The equipment over there needs replacement."
Mr. Reilly said the plan is one of several included in the district’s state-approved Capital Reserve Fund established in June of 2001. The $540,000 fund will pay for six improvement projects in the district.
The Weston playground has been in need of improvements for several years, but the public defeated a 2001 referendum seeking authorization to spend $75,000 to replace the playground’s equipment by a 483-359 vote.
Weston Principal Don Frank noted the playground was never deemed unsafe for school use.
Since the board did not want to abandon the project, it decided to use surplus money from the 2001-2002 school year, which comprises the Capital Reserve Fund, for the playground. The fund will be used to pay for six projects, including replacing floors that contain asbestos at some of the schools.
The New Jersey Department of Education’s Facilities Committee approves each project funded by the Capital Reserve Fund individually, Mr. Reilly said.
The Weston playground and surrounding area needs an upgrade, Mr. Frank said.
"The last time any equipment was added to it was 1984," Mr. Frank said. "What equipment we do have is outdated."
He added that the playground equipment is basically unfit for the age range at Weston kindergarten through third grade.
"The slide is probably taller than we’d want for younger children. Our children aren’t tall enough to even reach the bars in most cases," he said. "It’s not ideal."
Each grade, averaging 100 students, uses the playground for 20 minutes a day. In order to make the playground appropriate for students’ use, he said the equipment should be durable plastic instead of metal.
In addition to replacing the playground equipment, board President Dorothy Bradley said the area surrounding the playground is under review.
"The focus is not just the playground equipment, but the whole outside area there. The idea is how can we upgrade that area to be the best that it can for the kids," Ms. Bradley said.
For example, the school’s parking lot is too small to offer spots to all part-time employees, Mr. Frank said.
"The parking lot doesn’t cover it," he said. "We do have people when there’s overflow that end up parking on the street."
Mr. Reilly said the Clinton-based engineering group will consider adding parking spaces in the upgrade.

