Dysart-Geneseo Elementary Student Council members including (l-r) Dane Pipho, Ryker Staveley, William Kotouc, Morgan Flores, and Otis Hartman pictured with the $1,000 check they presented to Principal Derek Weber for the school’s playground fund. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

DYSART – For years, the poor condition of Dysart-Geneseo Elementary’s almost 35-year-old playground was something district administrators had to let slide – but not any longer following a recent decision to say goodbye to the aging structure.

During the school’s final assembly of the year held last Wednesday in the gym, student council representatives including Morgan Flores, Otis Hartman, William Kotouc, Dane Pipho, and Ryker Staveley presented a check to Principal Derek Weber as a down payment of sorts on a future new playground.

“Student council works really hard to raise money for our school, and do different things,” Weber explained to the gathered kindergarten through fifth grade students seated on the hardwood before him. “They decided they wanted to donate $1,000 to our new playground.”

As the handmade poster board check was presented to Weber – made to look exactly like a real check but filled in with the tell-tale printing of elementary students – the room erupted into worthy applause. According to DG media aide Peg Hennings, the check represents countless purchases of pencils and paper from the student council’s Pencil and Tablet Shop over several years.

But as wonderful and significant as the donation is, it is unfortunately just a drop in the bucket toward the overall price tag – new playgrounds, like everything else these days, are expensive.

Upper elementary students swing on DG Elementary’s 35-year-old school playground last Wednesday on the last day of school. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

That expense is the primary reason why DG’s playground – from its peeling paint and rusted bolts, to its non-inclusivity for those who use wheelchairs – has been allowed to remain in operation at least 10 years beyond what is usually recommended.

Last fall, during the school board’s November meeting, Weber broached the idea of replacing the aging playground, telling Union’s board members it is one of his building’s biggest concerns.

From the chain bridge that had recently ‘trapped’ a student to worn down swings to rusting metal and cracked joints to uneven surfaces, Weber described – and showed through a series of photos – why the playground has become such an issue. He also highlighted the need for inclusivity for those with disabilities and/or mobility issues.

Weber then presented three different quotes from playground vendors for new equipment ranging from just over $100,000 to almost $170,000.

While the school board took no action at that time, since then students and parents have taken the reins by donating toward DG’s playground fund in hopes that a new play space will soon become a reality.

A kindergarten student smiles while seated on a chain bridge located on DG Elementary’s lower elementary playground. The school is hoping to soon replacing the aging equipment. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The current playground was dedicated back in 1989. A rock located on the southeast corner near the lower elementary equipment contains both the date and the names of two former DG students for whom it was dedicated – the late Travis Burhenn and Steve Brandt. Both students – Burhenn, an upper elementary student, and Brandt, aged 6, – died separately in different farming accidents that took place near Dysart.

On Wednesday afternoon following the assembly, students from kindergarten up to fifth grade fanned out across the playground for their last recess of the school year. Much of the older, tan colored equipment went unoccupied. The majority of the students seemed to spend most of their time on the ball court or in the lush grass under the trees.

On a typical full day of school, Weber told the Telegraph, the playground space is occupied by one or more classes for a total of 160 minutes which equates to more than 37% of the school day.

The playground, it can be argued – even in the face of deteriorating conditions – is a fairly significant piece of every DG student’s learning.

Weber further said he has been using the $120,925 quote from Boland Recreation out of Marshalltown as a general guide for what needs to be raised from both donations and available district funds.

The lower elementary playground at DG Elementary pictured on May 31. The school is currently fundraising to replace the 35-year-old equipment. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Superintendent John Howard specifically addressed DG’s fundraising during the May board meeting, explaining that the district had been looking at equipment purchases and cosmetic changes for the playground in Dysart. The fundraising efforts, he said, would help such work begin sooner.

Thus far, DG has raised $4,508.50 toward the playground fund including $2,000 from a private donor, $1,500 from the DG Elementary PTO, $1,000 from the student council, and $8.50 from one particularly generous student, according to DG secretary Brenda Davis – just under 4% of what is needed without even accounting for inflation.

“As with every project, funding is low and prices are high,” Davis said.

DG Elementary welcomes donations from the public toward its playground fund. Checks can be made out to either Union CSD or DG Elementary but must be earmarked for DG’s playground fund. Monetary donations can be dropped off at the school.

DG Elementary principal Derek Weber speaks to the student body during the final assembly of the 2022-23 school year. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

RUBY F. MCALLISTER

The upper elementary playground at DG Elementary pictured on May 31. The school is currently fundraising to replace the 35-year-old equipment. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Kindergarten students play on the DG Elementary’s lower elementary playground equipment on the last day of school last Wednesday. The school is currently fundraising to replace the aging equipment. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

RUBY F. MCALLISTER

Lower elementary students swing on DG Elementary’s 35-year-old school playground last Wednesday on the last day of school. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

RUBY F. MCALLISTER

RUBY F. MCALLISTER

RUBY F. MCALLISTER