City Reaches Deal to Open Up School Playgrounds as Parks on Weekends

Once fenced-off playgrounds at local elementary schools can now be used for recreation on weekends after the city reached a deal this week with the school district to open up school grounds for use as parks.

The city and MUSD first opened up 's playgrounds on the weekends last year as a test case, and the results encouraged officials to expand the program Tuesday.

"The consensus among interested parties indicated Monrovia's youth and families want an area for recreational play on weekends that promotes positive activities such as family time and alternatives to watching television or playing video games," wrote Kerri Zessau, the city's recreation supervisor, in an agenda report.

The MUSD School Board approved the plan expanding the recreational uses last month, and the city signed off on it Tuesday. School Board member Alex Zucco called the deal a "no-brainer."

"I mean the schools are all neighborhood community schools and part of the community anyway," she said. "We decided to make it official."

Under the agreement, playgrounds and asphalt and turf areas at , , , and elementary schools will be open from dawn until dusk on weekends.

The school facilities were previously closed off during the weekends and though some families still used the facilities at a few other schools, others were totally inaccessible because of high fences, Zucco said.

The only concerns about the plan have stemmed from the potential need for increased maintenance work to keep the grounds up or the possibility that opening the schools would invite more vandalism on campuses. But so far, the schools have needed little additional upkeep, Zucco said.

The city has traditionally had little open space for residents to congregate and the deal is meant to address that, according to City Manager Scott Ochoa.

"Monrovia is a community that has historically been underserved with open space and parks in its built environment," Ochoa wrote in his weekly report.

City Councilman Tom Adams has , where none exist. But no official plans are in the works yet.

The deal will not affect the district's controversial plan to begin like AYSO for use of school facilities. Details on that proposal are still being worked out, Zucco said.

"That still has not been implemented," Zucco said.

The agreement to open up school grounds as parks runs through the end of the summer, at which time it will be reconsidered, Zucco said.

"We'll revisit it at the end of the summer to see how everybody liked it," she said.