Just days after opening to students, the main structure on a new playground at Juneau School District’s Dzantik’i Heeni campus is closed.
In a message to the campus’ families and staff on Friday, Juneau Superintendent Shawn Arnold announced the playground will be temporarily closed “out of an abundance of caution,” due to a broken cable.
That means the main structure of the playground will be off-limits to students and the public. The school year started yesterday.
“The structure will remain closed while the manufacturer replaces the cable crimping system to guarantee it meets the highest safety standards,” Arnold wrote.
The closure pulls the rug out from students who only briefly had a chance to use the new playground in Lemon Creek. The Dzantik’i Heeni campus houses Juneau’s charter school, Montessori Borealis and Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi High School.
For the two years prior to the playground, students there had to spend recess playing in a dirt field. Now, they’re back without it for an unknown amount of time.
In the message, Arnold said the district intends to share updates as soon as the manufacturer provides a timeline for the repair.
