Jenkintown SD closes playground 'castle' after inspection; board urges community not to remove barricades

The Jenkintown School District closed portions of a playground "castle" after an inspection found structural concerns with a 16‑foot bridge and two side turrets.

"We closed the castle the entire castle until we had a chance to get it looked at," said Dr. Janke. He told the board that volunteer Bob Hudson and a fire marshal inspected the structure, identified sagging bridges and recommended that the district barricade those sections.

Administrators posted signs and installed temporary fencing, but board members reported the barricades were torn down and someone placed a pole under the bridge using drywall screws. "Someone put a pole under the bridge and tried to support it," Dr. Janke said. "It wasn't secure."

Board members cautioned the community that ad‑hoc repairs can worsen damage and increase safety risks. One member said repeated tampering could force the district to remove the playground entirely: "If we can't, as a community, kind of appreciate that we're going through this process ... the alternative is to take it away," said Committee member S9.

Officials said the district has an inspection report and that maintenance staff will supply materials and make repairs. "We don't have a timeline, although it's a fairly short timeline. It's not gonna be months," Dr. Janke said, adding that the work should be completed well before next spring and likely before the end of fall, depending on materials availability.

The board asked administrators to refresh messaging to the public and to JYA (Jenkintown Youth Athletics) groups that use district fields on weekends, urging that outside teams respect barricades and not attempt their own repairs.

Next steps: administration will schedule repairs and contact contractors or maintenance staff to complete the work; the district plans further community messaging to prevent future tampering.