The youngest students in the Greene County School District will have a welcomed new outdoor amenity soon.

The Greene County School Board approved at their July meeting to purchase a new playground for the pre-kindergarten students. Superintendent Brett Abbotts says the main reasons for the purchase included accessibility, equity and location as the children have to walk the furthest to the playground at the elementary school. The School Board approved a $181,080 quote from Outdoor Recreation Products as Abbotts talks more about the project.

“It’s the same company that did The Children’s Center playground. They did a fantastic job there, so I would expect that they would do the same (for this project).”

Abbotts notes that some of the amenities are a pad for a basketball hoop, a track for big wheel trikes and the playground will be located next to the northwest door, which will also be fenced in and three times larger than their current outdoor space. He points out that the district is only $81,080 of the total with Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) funds, due to the generous donations from three other groups. Those entities include $50,000 from the Greene County Education Foundation, $40,000 from an anonymous donor and $10,000 from the Bringing Opportunities and Optimism to Students and Teachers (BOOST). 

Abbotts hopes to have the project at least started by the end of this calendar year with anticipation of having it done before the end of the 2025-26 school year.