• Article Photo. Removing the old wooden equipment is part of the first phase of Shellsburg project.
    Removing the old wooden equipment is part of the first phase of Shellsburg project.
  • Article Photo. Ryan Davis and Kelly Steffen work with other volunteers and teachers at the Shellsburg playground.
    Ryan Davis and Kelly Steffen work with other volunteers and teachers at the Shellsburg playground.
  • Article Photo. Rebecca Steffen and Bryn Patterson help remove tire chips from the Shellsburg Playground Tuesday.
    Rebecca Steffen and Bryn Patterson help remove tire chips from the Shellsburg Playground Tuesday.

     For months, a special committee has been working with the Shellsburg Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), the VInton-Shellsburg School Board and administrators and local donors in an attempt to raise funds for updating the playground equipment at Shellsburg Elementary. 

   During a recent school board meeting, the playground committee members cited the age and condition of the equipment, as well as safety concerns, as the reason for the project. 

    Today (Tuesday, June 28), volunteers and teachers, along with some of their children, began working on the first phase of the project: Removing the old equipment. The wooden castle area is being taken down today. Later this summer, new equipment will arrive. The volunteers have also begun removing the tire chip surface under the playground. That will be replaced with a wood chip protective surface. 

     Schock said the first phase of the project will cost about $86,000, with $52,000 coming from school district funds and the rest coming from donations and PTO fund-raising projects. The total project will cost an estimated $175,000.