“We have kids right now who are locked up in their homes, who don't have anywhere to go. Parks are too far away, and without that outlet, we're doing a detriment to them and to their learning,” School Board Member Teresa Tenorio said.
Tenorio fiercely advocated for the opening of school playgrounds during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
Though there was no official vote on the issue, both Tenorio and Board Member Carol Cooper spoke out about the need to reopen playgrounds for community use. The other two board members in attendance, Ray Jaramillo and School Board Vice President Maria Flores, said liability concerns and sanitation issues made it difficult to consider the reopening.
The meeting’s only public comment came from a parent negatively impacted by the closure of school playgrounds.
“I'm hoping that the school’s playgrounds will be open to the public once again. The school my son attends is the only playground within walking distance for us. I think it is critical to children's physical and mental health that all playgrounds be opened once again,” the comment read. “I've kept my son in sports year-round and enrolled him in after school programs to make sure he was getting the chance to run around, play and exercise. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, my son hasn't been able to get the proper exercise.”
Tenorio, who requested the board take on the issue, brought up that while city parks have officially reopened, some families live in areas where those parks can be hard to reach.
“With Coronavirus, we need to be as physically healthy as we can and same goes with our kids and with ourselves,” Tenorio said. “Then we can physically get out, strengthen our immune systems and get outdoor activity. I feel like our playgrounds offer that to our communities, especially the ones who are in play deserts that don't have large recreational areas to get out.”
Elena Gallegos, the school district’s attorney, said simply putting up safety procedure signs on playgrounds might not be enough to protect the district.
“I do want to make it clear that not all risks are equal, and in this particular area the district really does have risk that's higher than other areas of risk,” Gallegos said. “And we have what's called The Tort Claims Act. And there’s areas where the legislature has chosen to give school districts immunity, and this is an area where there's not immunity. And so there actually is significant exposure to potential liability.”
Board Member Ray Jaramillo spoke about his role as a preschool director and said while school was in session, he would receive a daily report on the status and safety of his playgrounds. Without that procedure in place, he worried for the safety of those using the equipment.
“I have a daily check that happens every single day, that happens on every single playground, on everything, to make sure that these playground equipment—is it safe?” Jaramillo said. “But to not have that ability to look at things daily, and to look at things, puts us at a higher risk.”
School Board Vice President Maria Flores said children do need exercise, and it will be up to parents to find alternatives to school playground use in whatever ways they can.
“I just wanted to say that, as a person that always sees the public schools as center of the community, that this is very difficult to say that the buildings and the playgrounds are closed. It is not what we want to do, but in a sense, there's something that also reminds me that, if we open it up, we are stressing the system,” Flores said. “This will pass. It may take a year, but it will pass and the schools will open, and the playgrounds will open.”
Tenorio advocated for the consideration of joint use agreements to share liability with the city and county so outdoor facilities can open. Superintendent Karen Trujillo said she would be more than happy to explore the request with both the city and county.
