Washoe schools phasing out playground staple

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1999 | 12:01 p.m.

Three new Washoe County elementary school playgrounds may be built without swings, using safer climbing equipment that allows more children to play and takes up a smaller portion of the playground.

Swings attract lines of pupils every day at recess, but few schools in other states still have them and Clark County did away with swings several years ago.

"They can't do some of the fun things because of the liability issue," said Dianne Savage, principal at Esther Bennett Elementary. "They have to stand a certain distance away from the swings, and they can't swing from side to side or grab onto another swing.

"We haven't had any problems with injuries. They know that if they leap out of the swings, they can't go on the swings for the next recess and are issued a citation for detention. They know the rules."

Jesenia Guillen, a third-grader at Bennett School, said she stands in line to play on the swings every day.

"But I don't care. I'll wait. The swings are my favorite."

School reviewed a new design at this week's meeting for playgrounds at Ed VanGorder Elementary School in Spanish Springs, set to open in August 2000, and two other elementary schools planned for northwest and southeast Reno. This is the first time the school board has considered not including swings on playgrounds. Trustees haven't revised playground-construction requirements since 1978.

Plant facilities manager Dale Sanderson said the swings and other climbing equipment at local schools are outdated. The new equipment is safer and has room for as many as 50 children at once while school playgrounds have only 12 swings.

"The biggest downside of this change is it would take a popular piece of equipment away," Sanderson told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "But with changes that will soon be required by the Consumer Safety Product Commission, we would need to expand the area of cushioning around the swings, and it would take up a lot more of the playground."

Trustees postponed action on the playground plan, instead asking staff to meet with elementary school principals for their input on playground equipment and how it gets used. The board also wants parents' input on designing the new playgrounds.