South Bruce Peninsula council is being asked to replace the playground equipment at Amabel-Sauble Community School.
Katherine Arnold of the school's parent council says the 20-year-old equipment is in poor condition and the tube-style slides make it difficult to supervise children, creating a safety concern that needs to be fixed.
Arnold says under normal circumstances, school boards are responsible for the installation and maintenance of equipment on school grounds, but because the Amabel-Sauble school is co-owned by the municipality and the Bluewater District School Board, it makes the situation different.
The co-ownership agreement between South Bruce Peninsula and the school board states the municipality is responsible for playground equipment, but Mayor Janice Jackson says it should be a cooperative effort.
Jackson points out the school board has exclusive use of the equipment during school hours, so they should put some money towards the estimated $100,000 cost of the project.
"Considering the fact that the school board won't allow the public onto that property during school hours, I think council believes they're responsible for that portion of the equipment and certainly the liability, if anybody gets injured during school hours, falls upon the school board," says Jackson.
Arnold says the parent council has already raised about $20,000 in cash donations and in-kind donations could take another $20,000 off the cost of the project.
The Amabel-Sauble Community School playground equipment is scheduled for replacement in 2018, but Jackson says they can move the timeline up, adding they will also seek out grants to help lower the cost to taxpayers.