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Parents and teachers ask Juneau Assembly to fully fund Zontakahini school playground
Summary
Residents and school staff urged the Assembly to fully fund a playground at the Zontakahini school site to serve about 260 students and neighborhood children in Lemon Creek, and requested short-term mitigation measures while the full project is planned.
During public participation at the Feb. 10 Juneau City and Borough Assembly meeting, several Lemon Creek residents and school staff urged the assembly to fully fund a playground at the Zontakahini school site and to take short-term steps to make the outdoor area safer and more usable.
“By fully funding the planned playground at the Zontakahini school site, which serves 260 pre-K through eighth-grade students across Juneau, including those from Montessori Borealis and Juneau Community Charter School, you would be making a lasting investment,” said Jen Liam, who identified herself as speaking on behalf of the Montessori Borealis site council. Liam said the playground would serve students and neighborhood children outside school hours.
Her remarks were followed by brief testimony from Gavin Liam, who said the current area is “just an empty dirt field and covered area” and urged the assembly to provide a full playground rather than partial pieces.
Jen Thorne, who said she is a teacher and support staff member at Montessori Public School, described operational and safety challenges at the site. Thorne said the combined student population served on the field is about 260 and that the ball field is not fully fenced; poor drainage creates hazardous surfaces that freeze into an "ice rink" in winter and become muddy in wet weather. Thorne outlined short-term requests for assembly or staff action including providing dog-waste signage and a bag dispenser, moving a soccer goal to free up field space, relocating sand inside temporary fencing, and fencing the play area with gates that can be secured. She said longer-term goals include improving drainage, adding accessible paths and installing play structures and swings.
Assembly members and school-district liaisons subsequently said school staff plan to address interim needs and that the district believes resources are available to meet short-term mitigation without a budget amendment.
The assembly did not take an immediate vote on funding during the meeting; members directed staff to accept the written request and to continue discussion through the appropriate facilities and budget channels.
