Playground Partnership agreement goes live
By Toi Creel
The City of Santa Monica and local schools are working together to make sure kids can have outdoor time in safe spaces.
The Playground Partnership agreement was established in May and went fully live Saturday, September 12 with six local elementary schools now allowing the community to use their playgrounds.
“It is very important for our students and families to have access to outdoor spaces, particularly with students’ home for distance learning on devices for hours each day,” said Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent (SMMUSD) Dr. Ben Drati.
Franklin, McKinley, Rogers, Edison, Grant and Roosevelt elementary schools have opened their fields and schoolyards to the community. Residents are able to use the fields for sports and other forms of recreation, though the playground areas will be closed.
According to officials, the City will reimburse the SMMUSD $95,456 annually starting this July. That would help pay for monitoring the site, general cleaning and taking care of the restroom and facilities. This amount will be adjusted annually.
“We hope our continued partnership with SMMUSD will provide the Santa Monica community much-needed access to outdoor recreation as we look together for ways for children to stay active during distance learning,” said Interim City Manager Lane Dilg.
