After years of planning and fundraising, Alpine Crest Elementary School students will finally have a safe playground to enjoy.
Crystal Swanson, president of the school's PTA, said it's been an uphill battle, to say the least.
"We're so excited it's finally coming together," she said. "I mean, the PTA started working on a better playground before I even came here." Swanson and her family moved to the Red Bank area around four years ago from Washington state.
The effort wasn't just due to the playground being dated. The equipment had become such a hazard - with broken wood, exposed screws and rusted metal - that students barely used it at all, Swanson said.
The students weren't the only ones missing out, either.
"This wasn't only for the students, but for the community at large, as well," Swanson said. "We're a community school. We wanted to create something the entire neighborhood could enjoy."
Funding sources have been a diverse cast. Donations from private citizens and the Red Bank Masonic Lodge, a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, two separate fundraisers, the PTA's own funds and a generous donation from the family of Matthew Wild, a late Alpine Crest alum, are just some examples, said Swanson.
The playground will cost roughly $32,000. The original plan, created several years ago, would have cost over $70,000, but it was abandoned for being impossible to fund. Still, not all the plans were scrapped.
The current blueprint was planned to cost roughly $24,000, but didn't include a $7,500 merry-go-round the students were especially excited about, which was cut due to cost reasons. Not wanting to disappoint the students with what will be their source of recess fun for years to come, the PTA decided to add the merry-go-round back to the blueprints and fund it out of the group's own pocket.
Construction is loosely planned for December. The playground is being built by PlayCore, a national playground construction company based in Chattanooga.
"The kids should be able to play on it before Christmas break, as long as the weather allows us to get working," Swanson said. "It's been hard, but we're finally here."