BUTLER — When the Clear Fork school district built a new elementary school in Butler, the area’s first inclusive playground was removed to make room.
Now, the new owners of the set are planning to re-install it in Frances Hitchman Park.
“We’re very excited,” said Terry Hitchman, son of the late Frances Hitchman. “We needed some new equipment and this allows us to have handicap accessibility, which we’ve never had before.”
The inclusive set had a ramp wide enough for children in wheelchairs, a spinner, a music-making station and a wheelchair accessible glider. At the date of installation, it was the first wheelchair glider in the state and the second in the nation.
“We’ve had the original manufacturers of the equipment come and take a look at it to assess the cost of putting it up, make sure all of the equipment is safe,” Hitchman said. “We’ve had an estimate from them and from an independent contractor.”
The park’s managing board also applied for grant funding to cover re-installation costs. Hitchman declined to name an approximate cost, but said it would be “several thousand dollars.” Nevertheless, he said the board is determined to put the inclusive playground to good use.
“It’s gonna get done, one way or another,” he said.
The playground equipment was first installed at Butler Elementary School in 2013, after the Butler Parents Club raised $13,000. It won an additional $25,000 in grant funding from The Clorox Foundation. Residents and local businesses donated time and labor to help make the project a reality.
According to Janice Wyckoff, superintendent of Clear Fork Valley Local Schools, the district originally planned to reinstall the equipment at the new Butler Elementary playground, but decided not to because there was state funding available for a new, ADA-compliant playground.
“It seemed like the best of both worlds,” Wyckoff said. “We maximized state tax dollars for the community.”
After the school board decided not to reinstall the inclusive set, it was sold to Hitchman Park for a dollar.
The playground equipment now sits on the tennis courts at the park. Once funding is secured, the plan is to construct a handicap accessible surface and erect the playground equipment near the basketball courts.
For special needs parents in Butler, the reinstallation of the playground at the park is bittersweet.
“It’s great it’s going to be in Butler, but it doesn’t solve the problem at the school,” said Lindsay Roberts, a mother of two boys with autism spectrum disorder. “The whole point of the play set was so that typical kids could play with special ability kids, whereas the new play set at Butler Elementary separates them.”
According to James Snider of Snider Recreation (formerly Snider and Associates), ADA-compliant play sets are accessible, but inclusive ones go a step further.
“ADA compliance provides access, which is a critical first step,” Snider said. “An inclusive or universally-designed play environment enriches and engages children of all abilities with access, but also design and product mix.”
Snider said that while an ADA-compliant playgrounds may have a section with accessible play structures, an inclusive playground seeks to integrate accessible choices throughout the playground.
“This allows children of all abilities to be in the same spaces even if they are partaking in different activities or doing the same activity differently.”
Roberts said if the playground is installed at Hitchman Park, she’ll definitely take her sons there often.
“I think it’ll be great because we need some place to go,” she said. “There’s no (inclusive playgrounds) in our county that we know of.”
