Jaden Urban tells us why the ban is being lifted.
Since 1999, all new elementary schools in the Washoe County School District could not build swing sets.
That was until the ban was reversed by the WCSD Board of Trustees Tuesday evening, unanimously.
As the district tackles a 15-year Facility Modernization Plan, every new school or which ones get a makeover, will now have to have a swing set.
This ban went under the radar, only until recently.
“It was two months ago, three months ago that this came about,” said Adam Searcy, Chief Operating Officer, WCSD. “And, you know, the the process was initiated that led to the meeting…”
“… it was actually in conjunction with the modernization, of one of our existing schools where the question was raised, ‘hey, you know, I don't know what about swings or are you impacting the swing set? It's really special and important to the school."
82 percent of elementary schools in the district already have swing sets.
Six elementary schools were built from 2000 to 2006, which did not include swings.
No elementary schools were built from 2006 to 2018.
The ban from 1999 was due to safety concerns and moving toward modular play structures or jungle gyms.
However, since then, the district has put in safety upgrades such as wood chips and other cushioning surfaces.
"We analyzed, reported, incident and injury information on our playgrounds and really did not find a meaningful difference between injuries reported related to swings versus injuries reported to other play structures," Searcy said.
Another reason the district decided to move forward with the motion is because the trustees felt the costs are very modest.
A new set of four swings costs $25,000 to $50,000.
When one parent found out there was a ban, she was very upset about it.
“We have some swing sets in the community that they can go to, but not having them at school where they could play with their friends, was disappointing," said Brittany Avila, mother of two.
During Tuesday’s meeting, there were lots of public comments on the item, both in person and online submissions.
One parent shared her children had been hurt while playing on the playground but didn’t want to ruin the party for everybody.
"I would never want this equipment removed because of their injuries beyond the joy swings and slides bring they need these opportunities to learn and protect themselves and each other."
Some parents believe valuable life lessons can be learned on the swing set.
"Children learn to watch their surroundings so they don't walk in front of or behind someone in motion, they learn patience by waiting their turn,” said one parent during public comment.
“Our social environments are learned on the swing sets,” Avila said. “So, how we engage in conflict resolution, how we start to include people, how we learn people's boundaries, and those types of things developmentally are important."
Another component of the motion centered around creating more shade structures for schools.
Every school now must have at least on 20 feet by 20 feet structure and intend to plant more trees.
Currently, 71 percent of elementary schools have a shaded structure.
It costs about $150,000 for each structure.
The district had a ban on swing sets for almost two decades.
