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Elementary School Opens Long-Awaited Playground

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: February 25, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - From the way the students at Cotee Elementary School stampeded out onto the playground last Friday, you'd think it was the first time they'd had recess in years.

They'd had recess, all right, but for more than 18 months, they've been having it in an open grassy area while a playground full of broken down, unusable equipment stood tantalizingly nearby.

That situation was officially rectified Friday with the reopening of the school playground, complete with new equipment that allows for all students to get in on the fun.

"We knew if we were going to replace the equipment we were going to do it so all our students would have access to it," Principal Barbara Kleinsorge said. "And that was not the case with the old equipment."

Student Council President Nico Buonsanto and another student, Gabe Coronado, cut the ribbon and led the way up the ramp of the playground's new centerpiece, a multistation jungle gym that comes with a slide, monkey bars and several other playground staples.

What makes this piece of equipment special is that it is designed with extra wide ramps and turning areas that can accommodate Gabe and other students who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids.

Cotee River Elementary is a district center school for medically fragile and physically impaired students. So when it became clear that the school's playground equipment needed to be replaced, Kleinsorge said, it was equally clear school officials wanted to get something that far exceeded Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Along with the standard playground amenities, the new equipment includes features that are mostly for the hands. At one of the platform levels, the railings are lined with plastic percussion instruments - "big purple balls" as Kleinsorge described them - that add a musical element to recess. The big purple balls are accompanied by spinning maraca-like instruments and a set of plastic bongos.

Finding the right company to do the job and finding the money to pay for it contributed to the long delay making this project happen. They found a bit of both in Game Time, a playground equipment company that has a program that helps schools find matching grants to pay for the equipment.

Still, with a $60,000 price tag, it took a while for the school to come up with its end of the money. A big part of Friday's celebration was acknowledging the wide community support the school got in its fundraising efforts.

The helping hands included a golf tournament at Seven Springs Golf and Country Club, a bowling tournament at Lane Glo North Bowling Alley and a book signing at the Book-A-Million in Port Richey, which featured local children's author Bob Hicks, who signed copies of his "Tommie Turtle's Secret."

Other contributors included A-Team Lawn Service, Chili's of Port Richey, Red Lobster of Port Richey and Spring Hill, Pit Boss Bar-B-Q, Carrabba's of Port Richey, Fantastic Sam's of New Port Richey, River Ridge Golf and Country Club, Tijuana Flats of Trinity, Hooters of Port Richey and The Golf Place.

As a show of gratitude, the sidewalk leading up to the new playground now features a rainbow-colored "walk of fame" listing the names of contributors.

As happy as the students were to finally have their playground back, Kleinsorge said, it is still a work in progress.

"We're going to continue," she said. The new unit is designed to allow additions.

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