As the My Ballard team reported on Februrary 11, a group of parents, friends and neighbors from the Loyal Heights Elementary community have banded together to try and save the fate of the playground on the school grounds.
Loyal Heights Elementary is set to undergo a major expansion starting in 2016 to accommodate the increasing demand of the local growing population. The school is set to expand its current capacity of 450 students to approximately 650-800 students and must rearrange physical attributes of the school in order to do so.
The $37.3 million expansion project is currently underway under the direction of Seattle Public Schools who believe that the project “will address current and projected elementary enrollment growth in northwest Seattle.”
Despite acknowledging the benefits that the expansion will provide the local parents and neighbors have some concerns. “While many of the proposed changes will be of great benefit to our expanding student body, we are concerned that the building plans include a severe reduction in outdoor play space,” writes the local group on their website.
According to the local group, the current proposal is set to cut the outdoor playground space in half, leaving 3000 square meters for outdoor activities. “To put that in perspective, a soccer field is approx. 6000 square meters,” writes the group. Click here to view more details from the previous My Ballard report.
Loyal Heights parent, Katie Kaku, has created a petition for locals to show their support and express their opinions on the issue.
“We the parents, future parents and neighbors of Loyal Heights Elementary School, as well as concerned citizens, protest the proposed elimination of half of the playground at Loyal Heights Elementary school,” writes Kaku on the petition website.
Click here if you are interested in signing the petition.
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