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Board discusses future of Boswell Park; district to add site to facilities assessment and continue maintenance
Summary
The board reviewed Boswell Park history and possible educational uses, acknowledged safety and maintenance concerns for playground equipment, and directed staff to include Boswell in the district facilities assessment and maintain the grounds while the assessment proceeds.
The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education discussed the future use of Boswell Park on Tuesday, including its ownership history, current community use, safety concerns and possibilities for school-based programming.
Board staff told the board that USD 501 holds legal title to Boswell Park, but since 1977 the city — and later the county — has had agreements giving exclusive use and responsibility for mowing and routine maintenance. Board members and staff said earlier agreements allowed the city/county to propose improvements with board approval.
Board members heard ideas from district curriculum staff about instructional uses for the park if the district retained active oversight: outdoor classroom stations, model rocketry kits that teachers could check out, monarch-butterfly tagging and habitat work, historical markers tying the park to local African American history and Brown v. Board heritage, music and theater events at the park gazebo, and math and science lessons aligned to grade levels.
Board members also raised community concerns about existing playground equipment. “Community has come forward and said that the play equipment is hazardous,” a board member said; staff replied they had inspected the site, collected photographs and would include the park in the facility assessment now under way. Facilities staff said basic day-to-day maintenance (mowing and grounds upkeep) could continue while a full condition and cost assessment is completed, but significant equipment replacement would require budget allocations or outside funding.
There was no board action to change ownership at the meeting. Instead the board directed staff to add Boswell Park to the district’s upcoming facilities assessment, to continue maintaining basic grounds in the near term, and to bring cost estimates and options for equipment repair or replacement to a future meeting. Several board members expressed support for retaining the site if the board commits to investing in necessary upgrades and programming.
