Adams Elementary playground will no longer be open to public

Fourth-grader Carlos Gonzalez loved the playground at Adams Elementary School.

“I liked to stand on top of it sometimes and to shout, ‘I’m the tallest!’ ” he said.

His king-of-the-mountain perch was gone Monday, following a weekend fire that destroyed about half of the plastic playground equipment and the padding beneath it.

Investigators say the fire, which caused about $20,000 damage, was intentionally set. Wichita Fire Capt. Kelly Zane said investigators planned to review video footage of the playground area captured by the school’s security cameras.

When students returned to Adams Elementary on Monday, principal Terry Manning visited classrooms to share some disappointing news.

The school playground, near Ninth and Oliver – which includes a basketball court, soccer field, swingset and other amenities – will no longer be open for public use after school or on weekends.

“We want our kids to have access to it because we’re talking about a bunch of kids that don’t have a lot to play with around here,” Manning said. “But now it’s to the point where we’re going to have to lock it up every night.”

Students and staff members were saddened by the crime and its consequences for the neighborhood, a high-poverty area.

“It’s just disappointing. Our kids deserve a fun place to play,” Manning said. “It’s unfortunate that outside of the school day now, they’re not going to be able to play on that stuff.”

The nearest public playground is Edgemoor Park, about a half-mile to the east. Manning said she hopes her students and other neighborhood youngsters are able to get there on weekends and over the summer to shoot hoops, ride skateboards or play soccer now that the school playground will be closed.

“You don’t want them just wandering around with nothing to do,” she said. “We want them to get exercise. We want them to be able to have some fun.”

By lunchtime recess Monday, crews from the Wichita district’s School Service Center had cleared away the damaged portion of playground equipment and secured the rest behind orange fencing.

District spokeswoman Susan Arensman said the damage is covered by insurance.

“We will work to make sure the equipment is replaced, but we don’t have a timeline yet,” Arensman said. “We will try to get it replaced as soon as possible.”

Students expressed anger and disappointment. The playground equipment was fairly new and in great shape, Manning said, having been installed as part of the school’s bond issue improvements three years ago.

“I felt kind of sad,” said fourth-grader Ezekiel Childers. “Now it’s all burned down and people can’t even play on the jungle gym anymore.

“Why would somebody do that after tons of people went through a ton of stuff trying to get the money just for kids to play?”

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Adams Elementary playground will no longer be open to public."