Instead of soaring on swings, racing down slides, and climbing on monkey bars, students at four Santa Maria elementary schools are playing on concrete slabs.
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District allocated federal COVID-19 relief dollars to improve the playgrounds at Fairlawn, Tunnell, Alvin, and Ontiveros elementary schools. Over the summer, the district removed the outdated equipment, purchased new equipment, and installed concrete slabs with the goal of completing construction before school started.
Elementary school leaders and staff picked color schemes and preferred structures. But contracts for construction tripped over federal red tape and tumbled any building plans.
“We are more than 10 weeks into the school year, and there [are] no bids accepted to build the playground,” Fairlawn Elementary physical education teacher Michael Clair told the school board during its Oct. 23 meeting. “Without a playground, they have many limited options during recess time. Many students are apathetic about going to recess, and a lack of opportunities is contributing to social and behavioral issues throughout the [day].”
Recess teaches kids how to take appropriate risks, wait their turn, socialize with other students, and engage in physical activity. Without it, kids don’t get the physical movement or the mental release from their preferred activities—making it hard to focus or behave appropriately when they return to the classroom, Clair told the Sun in an email.
“It probably goes without saying, but recess is a hook for lots of students. It gets them looking forward to each day,” Clair said in the email. “A safe and existent playground is a cornerstone of this allure.”
In the meantime, the school sites have reallocated general fund dollars to purchase more balls, jump ropes, and other equipment to make the time outside enjoyable and stimulating for the students. Santa Maria-Bonita also allocated an additional $11,000 for each of the four schools to replenish equipment as it sees more wear and tear without a playground to balance out the demand.
Teachers, faculty, and students won’t see the colorful slides or towering jungle gyms until after winter break at the earliest—that’s if the school board can receive and approve new contracts for construction during its Nov. 13 meeting, district Public Information Officer Maggie White told the Sun.
“One of the things I wasn’t aware of is the district has already purchased and owns the actual equipment pieces,” White said. “It’s not the equipment, it’s not a supply shortage, it’s just the timing of the [Division of the State Architect] and going out for rebid on the contract, and timing for board approval. We only have one board meeting in November.”
California’s Division of the State Architect oversees all school site construction and is seeing a backlog for construction approvals because several other sites are using their COVID-19 relief dollars for site improvements.
“The approval was already a couple of months delayed,” White said. “In addition, because federal funds are used for the majority of these kinds of projects we are doing, part of the requirement for federal dollars being spent is that contractors have to show good faith that they are supporting people and businesses with disabled veterans.”
In the initial construction contract proposals, Santa Maria-Bonita found that the bidders didn’t make a substantial effort to involve businesses that employ people who are disabled veterans, she said.
“Per the guidelines, we had to reject the bids and go out to bid [again] and make it even more clear of the guidelines that have to be met: Proof you have to be using companies or people with disabled veterans. We need to know how you are trying to meet that guideline,” White said.
Since rebidding, the district received one bid for Alvin and Fairlawn playgrounds and Alvin’s shade shelter projects; two bids for Tunnell’s playground and shade shelter project; and one bid for Ontiveros’ playground and shade shelter project. They are all being reviewed for completeness and adherence to bid regulations, and the lowest bid will be sent to the school board for approval.
Total installation costs for all four school sites are roughly between $1.55 million and $1.73 million, but the overall cost of the new playgrounds is higher because of the design and architectural work and purchasing the equipment itself, White said.
“If the board approves the contract for the work at the four school sites on Nov. 13, we will let the winning bid or bidders know, … then we will aggressively begin with installation work,” she said.
Federal guidelines require that construction from beginning to end will be approximately 56 calendar days—during which the company will install the squishy ground cover, drill the footings to the actual structures, and then add the colorful plastic equipment on top in addition to shade structures at some school sites. If the board approves the bids on Nov. 13, the contracted companies can begin right away. The goal is to have the projects complete before students return from winter break on Jan. 14.
“I think the schools have been very creative and flexible in how they have responded to this delay,” White said. “That, for the most part, is [because] the majority of staff members have been very enthusiastic about finding solutions the kids like.”
Water and sand tables, giant Jenga games, balance beams, scooters, puzzles, arts and crafts stations, jump rope, four square, basketball, and soccer have been some of the solutions across the waiting schools.
Alvin Elementary School Principal Trinity Hamilton said she went out to her school site one weekend in early October with a few volunteers to paint the concrete for different activities.
“The goal was to create a fun and engaging space that will meet all of our students’ needs during the day while they’re outside,” Hamilton said. “The results have been fabulous considering the challenges.”
Alvin Elementary has more than 1,000 students on its campus. With the playground out of commission, faculty and staff saw an increase in “some challenging behaviors.”
“If you don’t have things for students to do outside, they’re going to find things to do,” Hamilton said. “If you have less things then kids have to compete for those things, but if you have more then there’s less competition for those resources.”
By dividing the concrete into four quadrants, the school’s student supervision aides have been able to bring more structured activities to the table, guide students through the rules, and manage conflicts that arise more efficiently, she said.
The school has spent around $6,000 to purchase more soccer balls, rollaway basketball hoops, and a giant Connect Four game alongside other equipment students can use while outside. Hamilton had already earmarked additional funds for her school because she was anticipating the delays, but she wasn’t expecting to spend the money so quickly. The additional $11,000 from the district brought some relief to support the additional needs.
“At first we were crestfallen, of course, because we were hoping and waiting that this would happen, and when it didn’t we had to pivot,” Hamilton said. “In education, things are going to happen, things are going to change. … You [have to] think outside the box because you never know what curveball comes next. It really requires a collaborative team.”
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 7-17, 2024.