The Brownsville Independent School District unveiled plans Monday to install playground equipment at each of its 34 elementary school campuses in a two-phase project expected to be complete by the end of the year.
Each playground is a self-contained surface, structure and play area that each elementary school had a hand in designing, district maintenance director Cesar G. Lopez said. The total project will cost about $2 million in local and federal funds, Superintendent Rene Gutierrez said.
BISD unveiled the project at a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning at Del Castillo Elementary, the first school on a list of 10 phase-one schools to receive the playgrounds. The district plans to have the first 10 playgrounds installed by September and the remainder complete by December, Lopez said.
He said the district received input on the playgrounds from every elementary campus. The contractor was chosen through competitive sealed proposal, with the proposals being ranked by a team of 11 district officials. Each playground is expected to cost about $60,000.
Play & Park Structures of Southern Texas won the contract. The company has installed between 10-15 playground structures around Brownsville through a partnership with the city, said Jeff Mankins, San Antonio-based consultant for the company.
Mankins said each school will be able to choose from 10 color pallets available for the playgrounds. The playgrounds come with instructions — a book of 100 suggested activities utilizing the structure and surrounding space. The playgrounds are designed for both structured and free play.
“This was something that was very much needed here at BISD,” Gutierrez said, gesturing to the open space behind the gold groundbreaking shovels and asking “where have the kids been playing?”
Gutierrez said during the pandemic BISD has been looking for ways to improve the educational experience for students, both inside and outside the classroom. Besides the playgrounds, he said gymnasiums at all the elementary schools will be enclosed and get air conditioning and restrooms.
“We’re preparing for when the students come back, hopefully soon,” he said.
Herbierto Perez, a fifth-grader who is already attending in-person classes, helped lead the Pledge of Allegiance, the Texas Pledge and the Del Castillo pledge. He said even though the playground is more for kids younger than he, it will be good for the students who follow at Del Castillo.
Del Castillo Principal Petra Torres said she was “super-excited” to be getting the playground equipment and thanked the BISD Board of Trustees for investing the money in the playgrounds and gymnasium improvements.
Gutierrez said the goal with both the playgrounds and the gymnasiums is to keep the students engaged and promote wellness.
