Editorial
Playground repairs should be a priority

On balance, the state Department of Education is taking the right approach on its efforts to replace outmoded or dangerous playground equipment at dozens of Island schools.

Rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach, the state has sought to customize the equipment installation to the needs and recreational approach of the individual schools.

That's good, because what takes place on the playground is in fact an extension of what happens in the classroom.

Different schools may have different needs or different objectives, so they would necessarily require different kinds of equipment.

But unhappily, this effort to be thoughtful has produced painful delays. Some schools have been without equipment for as long as two years. An awful amount of growing, learning and playing has gone by in that time.

The money has been appropriated. The need is there. Summer is at hand. The state should do everything possible to see that needed equipment is in place and ready to go when the fall term rolls around.