Standish-area schools to replace playgrounds deemed ‘dangerous’
The playground at Edna Libby Elementary School in Standish is taped off Tuesday. MSAD6 has closed many of its school playgrounds because they are in need or repair or replacement Tuesday. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)
Playground equipment at five of six Standish-area elementary schools will be removed this summer due to “significant safety concerns.”
In a message to families Monday, Maine School Administrative District 6 Superintendent Brian Campbell wrote that a recent inspection found playgrounds with broken equipment and exposed rusted metal components that cannot be repaired. Those playgrounds will be replaced during the 2026-27 school year, leaving students without designated play equipment until projects are complete. The district serves students in Buxton, Standish, Hollis, Frye Island and Limington.
Campbell said the inspection came in the spring after a parent complained that their child’s foot got stuck in a hole in a taped-off slide at one of the schools.
The playground at Edna Libby Elementary School in Standish is taped off Tuesday. MSAD6 has closed many of its school playgrounds Tuesday because the equipment needs to be replaced. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)
Playgrounds at MSAD 6 were previously inspected by building custodians, Campbell wrote in his letter. Following the complaint, Facilities Director Karl Ingoldsby suggested that the district’s safety coordinator become a certified playground inspector and assess the infrastructure. All of the equipment, except for swing sets and the playground at the newer Buxton Center Elementary School, subsequently failed inspection.
Campbell said that while New Hampshire state law requires playgrounds to be regularly and professionally inspected, Maine has no such law.
The playgrounds have been closed since late spring and the equipment is being removed.
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The new equipment will be ADA-compliant, costing roughly $50,000 per playground, according to Campbell. The district will apply for community development grants, partner with vendors and seek out fundraising opportunities to pay for the new playgrounds.
Investing in new equipment at Bonny Eagle’s schools raises questions about allotment of resources, as the district is considering a plan to close five of six elementary schools and consolidate them under one roof at the existing middle school. Campbell said he believes replacing the equipment soon will be worth the cost regardless of future changes.
“A playground on a potentially old school site is still going to be community-accessible, and we need something there for kids and families,” he said.
Campbell said administrators are thinking of other ways to keep kids active during recess, including games such as tetherball and four square and activities like snowshoeing and sledding.
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Madeleine is a community reporter for Gorham, Buxton and Standish. She started her journalism career in Vermont, where she reported for Seven Days and served as the editor-in-chief of Middlebury College's. More by Madeleine Kaptein
