I'd recommend going to have a talk with someone at the district level. If you can convince the superintendent or school committee that your school is actually at a disadvantage because your playground is lacking in certain features that are at other schools, then they ought to be happy to have you contribute some funds to remedy that.
In our town, the playgrounds are owned/maintained by the town, and there's a multi-year renovation cycle (one playground each year). Our PTO had a fundraiser the year ours was up, to supplement the amount from the town. It's hard to say one school or another has an advantage -- each one gets new stuff at a different time. Our playground has a nice shaded area -- but the closest field is across a street (used for PE, not recess); another school has a (very sunny) field. Does one have an advantage? Yes, but which one depends on what the weather is like.
We brought up this question at a PTA meeting last year and we were told by our principal that the school district would not allow it and that as a PTA, we were not allowed to make any improvements to our school that would give our specific school an unfair advantage over other schools in the district. This REALLY frustrated me! A new playground is an unfair advantage??
Rockne;75740 wrote: Raising funds and installing are quite different.
A lot of groups raise the dollars and purchase the equipment and then formally donate (paperwork, etc.) the equipment to the school district. Combine that with installation by professional installers, and your group is safe.
This is a good example of what I was referring to -- it's a (flawed) interpretation; I've never seen it in any PTA bylaws.
Tim
Hi Hoover,
You probably want to take one more step afte the playground is installed. Have the playground audited by a Certified Playground
Safety Inspector. The "standard of care" for playground safety is generally based on the
Consumer Product Safety Commission Handbook for Public Playground Safety
. This is the 2008 version which is officially a draft but considered official by most.
It states;
"After assembly and before its first use, equipment should
be thoroughly inspected by a person qualified to inspect
playgrounds for safety."
You will have to raise a few more dollars to pay for it. However, after the inspection the inspector should be able to verify in writing that the playground is in compliance. That document should provide a comprehensive layer of protection for anyone concerned about liability. Hope this helps.
A lot of groups raise the dollars and purchase the equipment and then formally donate (paperwork, etc.) the equipment to the school district. Combine that with installation by professional installers, and your group is safe.
This is a good example of what I was referring to -- it's a (flawed) interpretation; I've never seen it in any PTA bylaws.
Our PTA can raise $$ for application to anything that benefits/enriches the school experience for the kids.
I think that we'd contribute the funding to purchase the play structures, but have the district hire a qualified (and insured) contractor to supervise/complete the construction. This would shift the liability to the manufacturer and contractor, and away from our group.
It could become a tax problem to have "fundraisers" unconnected with the PTA, as you are no longer under their 501c3 nonprofit umbrella; everything becomes taxable pretty fast!
It might cost a bit more to go this way, but in the long run it might be worth it.
Also, it was mentioned that the PTA is middle school - would an elementary playground be within the scope of their middle-school student focus? Their bylaws might say (interpretation?) that they are to help students in X or Y grades. This could also be the reason for their lack of support.
My understanding is that we are not supposed to fundraise for playgrounds because of the liability involved. If a playground is installed by PTA volunteers and a child is hurt because it was installed incorrectly, who is liable? I remember at a local unit meeting being told that the way to raise funds was just to have a seperate fundraiser un-connected with the PTA.
