The Brownsville Elementary PTO has zeroed in on part of the school’s outdoor play area in need of some upgrades, and has made progress toward a solution with the help of the Albemarle County school division’s Building Services department. Brownsville parent and PTO member Paul McGowan rallied support this spring for improvements to the north side playground near the front of the school, which features a basketball court and dirt yard.
“Though the asphalt is not horrible, the basketball hoops themselves look like they’re from 1967,” said McGowan. “The hoops and posts are chipped and rusting, the rims are bent with no nets, and the posts are a standard (ten foot) height, where lower hoops are more appropriate for elementary-age kids. There’s a fence line that doesn’t extend far enough, so loose balls roll down into the gorge on the north side—it just eats basketballs.
“The field next to it is actually worse and really more of a safety issue,” McGowan continued. “It’s a dirt field that can’t get anything to grow, it gets tons of traffic, and it’s slick red clay. So, in the wintertime it’s just straight mud, in the summer it’s hard pan and the kids like to dig, so there’s holes dug everywhere, and there are pits from rotted tree stumps that fill with water when it rains. There are larger [nicer] playground structures out back, but Brownsville has so many kids that some have to use that front playground.”
McGowan said that the idea of the PTO helping to fundraise for playground improvements has been under discussion since Jason Crutchfield was principal, and has continued with this year’s new principal Jim Kyner. “We really struggled to get any traction with the idea because the price tag was high,” said McGowan. “Just trying to put down some sort of field turf in the dirt area, we were getting estimates of like $150,000. We obviously don’t have that kind of funding, so we’ll need more help. That’s when the idea of a [fundraising] tournament was born.”
In years past, the Brownsville PTO hosted an annual Casino Night fundraiser, and more recently has simply asked families for donations once a year. A golfer himself, McGowan proposed a golf tournament to raise money for the repairs. He consulted with community members who had done this kind of thing before, such as Greg Slater, owner of Crozet Creamery, to learn the ropes, and then created an event called Birdies for Bees, held in April at the Old Trail Golf Course. McGowan picked up title sponsorships, raffle giveaways, and 72 golfers to end up with a profit of $9,000 from the event. A terrific haul, but not enough money for all of the repairs.
Principal Kyner got involved to make connections with the county. “I have been working with Jeff Rohm [assistant director of operations of Building Services at the school division] and our PTO to make improvements to the front playground,” said Kyner. “I am so appreciative of our PTO and the school community’s efforts to support our students through improving our outdoor space. We will be starting with basketball hoops, and I am talking with our PTO and our building services [staff] about how we can improve the asphalt and grassy areas as well. I am glad that everyone is thinking about how we can make our outdoor spaces better to benefit our students. I am very thankful.”
The school division’s Building Services department maintains all county school playgrounds, which are facilities that the public may use during non-school hours, and McGowan and Kyner contacted Rohm to explain the school’s needs. “They came out to look at the area and, to our surprise, they said, ‘Oh no, the school PTO doesn’t need to do this. We’ll take care of this,’” said McGowan. That was good news for the school, and McGowan has been asking to see a specific plan so that the PTO can arrange to fill in the gaps with its funds.
“It would be great if we could agree on areas of responsibility so we can help where needed,” said McGowan. “Like, when they install new basketball goals, do they plan to stripe the courts? If not, maybe we can do that. Maybe if they plan to install standard posts, we could pay for adjustable height hoops, things like that.” County staff have indicated that parts of the project will go forward as soon as this summer.
“I have been in discussions with Mr. Kyner about improving their outdoor play space,” said Rohm. “New basketball goals, asphalt improvement, and correcting the natural grass play area have been our hot topics. The basketball goal replacement and asphalt improvement we have committed to completing this summer and we will continue to discuss how PTO fundraising efforts can contribute to improving the space. We will continue to work with Mr. Kyner to determine the PTO’s final preferences for improvement to the playground area or other areas to consider.”
McGowan said there are ongoing discussions about adding a split rail fence to separate the playground space from the parking lot. “The PTO is looking to use excess funds to add additional playground equipment like tether ball, funnel ball and/or a Gaga ball pit,” he said. “We are also investigating adding benches and picnic tables to the area. We’d like to pitch in any way we can.”
To get involved, the Brownsville PTO can be reached at [email protected].
