The Mather Elementary playground project is now fully funded, according to school officials.
“I’m super excited. I didn’t think it was going to happen this soon,” Munising Middle/High School Principal Nicole Lasak said. “It’s a good feeling to achieve this goal with the help of the community.”
A goal of $150,000 was set by the school district after the Munising Board of Education announced that they could pay for half of the estimated $300,000 expense of replacing the current wooden structure. A donation from the Munising Visitors Bureau for $17,000 pushed the total over the goal after hundreds of donations came in from businesses, organizations, local government American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and private donors. Many donors were featured on Munising Public School’s Facebook page and on the social media accounts of the various donors.
Lasak started the fundraising while serving as the Mather Elementary program and received extra help from current principal Wes Lee Tweedale and a committee of other involved volunteers and school staff.
“It’s phenomenal,” Tweedale said. “Coming into this community in July, this was the No. 2 thing to start the year. Seeing how everyone came together is amazing.”
Lasak said that they plan on pursuing additional grants to help with additional possible designs and upgrades to the basketball court and protective fencing around the perimeter and the tot-lot equipment. The online fundraiser will also continue for any private donations and some businesses are going through internal procedures to also donate to the project.
The school will not pursue any additional fundraising events in the goal of not overburdening the area’s philanthropic spirit.
“You have fundraisers for band and athletics and so many individual activities, we don’t want to overtap the community after all the help they provide,” Lasak said.
The next step will be solidifying what company will build the playground. What the playground will look like will also be a decision, but the design will be up to new safety standards of metal and plastic while also being American Disability Act (ADA) compliant. The design will ultimately be approved at the Munising School Board meeting as soon as next week.
“With the board providing half the funds, it’s important that they have the ability to make the call,” Tweedale said. “We would like to have public involvement since everybody has been involved so much already, but come down to the meeting and provide your input there.”
Five companies have already submitted a bid for the project, with some including deconstruction of the current playground. The goal for the school is to have the equipment deconstructed through qualified volunteers as some of the slides are still usable and some members of the community have asked for a keepsake of the old equipment.
