Work has begun to make the playground at Deer Path Elementary School accessible for children with disabilities.
The District 67 Board of Education voted unanimously this week to accept a plan to install a combination of rubberized tile and a wood carpet under the playground equipment, replacing wood chips that were placed there in August. The total cost of the project is about $23,000, a figure less than what staff originally projected.
The cost is lower than expected in part because the project has been broken into four segments, and also because the Lake Forest Parks Department was able to begin work during the mild winter weather, said Ed Tivador, assistant superintendent for finance and operations.
The district began the bidding process for an accessible playground surface after parents of a 2nd grader with a disability made an appeal to the board in October. The board rejected the only bid of more than $50,000 in December, and instead contracted the city parks department for the excavation, drain preparation and gravel packing.
