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New playground sought at Theodore Roosevelt
Students at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School on William Street could have a new playground at which to frolic next school year.
Theodore Roosevelt Principal Thomas Slaiman informed the Cheektowaga-Sloan Board of Education at Monday's work session that the TR Parent Teacher Organization has already taken steps toward replacing the school's 14-year-old playground along William Street, and that the group needs board approval before continuing.
The principal added that the PTO would obtain the approximately $50,000 construction cost through fundraisers, including rummage sales, Chuck E. Cheese "family nights," basket auctions, car washes and other money-generating activities. Slaiman stated the PTO has raised around $7,000 for the project.
"We've got an energetic PTO wanting to replace the entire playground," said Slaiman, who added that Miracle Recreation Equipment would handle the project. "It's a lot of work, but the PTO is ready to get going. I never thought we'd replace the playground so soon."
Slaiman said the PTO hopes to have the new playground installed by September. Part of the project's cost includes $3,000 for Miracle Recreation Equipment to send two on-site supervisors to the school for two days.
Board President Claire Ferrucci said she had no objections about the project.
"I see no problem," Ferrucci said. "The only comment I have is that (the board) would like to be involved."
Slaiman also stressed that the PTO is sponsoring only family-oriented fundraisers that do not include alcohol.
The principal stated that upon his arrival at TR in 1993, he obtained district approval to install the current playground. A school "playground committee" owned the playground until the property was installed. Since then, Slaiman stated, the playground has encountered some problems with graffiti being scrawled on objects. The school's PTO has also sought to eliminate potential safety hazards.
New playground equipment would include rock walls, slides and items that are close to the ground, as opposed to current "diggers" and monkey bars.
"Safety is obviously an issue and so is the graffiti problem," Slaiman told the Times. "A new playground would be more open and vandalproof."
In another move, the board approved John F. Kennedy Middle School Principal David Peters' request to increase the work time of two JFK cafeteria monitors by 15 minutes per day.
Peters cited safety issues- high school and middle school students converging in a packed hallways between lunch periods- as well as cleanliness for the increases.
"I observed large congestion in the hallways when high school students leave the cafeteria," said Peters. "We've got more than 400 students in the pathway. Also, lunch monitors didn't have enough time to clean up and organize."
The principal said adjusting the class schedule after winter break gave JFK Middle School students a 41-minute lunch period, from 12:15- 12:56 p.m. Increasing the monitors' time by 15 minutes per day, or two and one-half hours per week, would allow the workers to wipe down all tables and organize condiments, which is not always possible under the current schedule.
Superintendent of Schools James P. Mazgajewski said the time increase would equate to about an extra $20 a month in pay for the monitors.
Also on Monday, the board also accepted a $25,000 check for the 2006-2007 academic year from Norman and Dorothy Greenhauer to fund their scholarship program for JFK High School seniors. Since 1987, the Greenhauers have donated $330,000 to JFK students in various areas of study.
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