KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An elementary school in Knox County has a new playground after people from across the community donated money to help pay for improvements.
Belle Morris Elementary School's new playground cost thousands of dollars. The school had been raising money for a while before the Playspace Fund stepped in to help pay for the new playground. The fund is the result of a partnership between Knox County Schools and the Knox Education Foundation, which raises money to pay for new playgrounds.
"Their playground was in desperate need of replacement. The students and school had been raising money for 10 years and only raised around $20,000. The cost of a new playground is in excess of $150,000," said Mike Taylor, the CEO of Knox Education Foundation.
The foundation works with the district to decide which playgrounds are in the most need of repairs or replacement. During this round of funding, leaders said they were working to get new playground equipment to seven schools including Fountain City Elementary School and the Knoxville Adaptive Center.
Previously, Taylor said the first phase of the Playspace Fund raised around $1.3 million for playgrounds and the foundation hopes to provide a total of around $4.5 million through the fund. There are three phases to the project, and the foundation said it plans to work on the second phase soon.
As part of that process, the foundation will work with the district to identify specific playgrounds that need either repairs or replacement.
It is also still fundraising to support playgrounds across Knox County Schools. Anyone who wants to donate to support the project can do so online.