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Mann Elementary PTO raises $12,000 for 20-by-12 outdoor classroom; seeks SLPS guidance on permits and liability
Summary
Mann Elementary PTO told the St. Louis Public Schools Real Estate Committee it has raised more than $12,000 to buy and furnish a 20-by-12 gazebo classroom kit; the group asked the district about permit, insurance and whether SLPS staff could build the structure.
Mann Elementary PTO representatives told the St. Louis Public Schools Real Estate Committee they have raised more than $12,000 to buy and furnish a 20-by-12 gazebo to serve as an outdoor classroom for STEAM instruction and community use.
The donation, the PTO said, is the group’s largest single fundraiser and would buy a gazebo kit sold by Backyard Discovery, delivered by freight with a two- to three-week lead time. The PTO asked the committee for guidance on permits, inspections and on whether the district’s buildings-and-grounds staff could build the structure in lieu of volunteer labor so that the site would be covered by SLPS liability.
The PTO representative said the gazebo would be anchored on concrete footings as specified by the manufacturer and that the group has union volunteer labor available from Laborers Local 110 and Laborers Local 396 to construct the kit if permitted. The group said Seed St. Louis offers a pooled liability policy that community gardens can buy for about $50 a year and offered that as an alternative if volunteer labor is used.
Committee members discussed accessibility, surfacing beneath the structure and upkeep. The PTO said the gazebo kit includes built-in electrical outlets and that the group plans to buy benches (some modeled after recycled-plastic benches donated in memory of a former teacher), a portable whiteboard and a hand-washing station. The PTO also said the school’s enrollment is about 300 students (the speaker said she was not sure whether that count included pre-K) and that roughly one-third of students are English-language learners.
Miss Henry, responding to the PTO’s question about SLPS crews building the project, said she would “get that information and get it back to you.” The PTO asked that construction be completed by the spring if at all possible.
Next steps: the PTO will provide the committee the kit specifications already sent by email, and district staff said they would follow up on whether SLPS could perform the work under district liability and on permit requirements.
