The new playground slated to be constructed at Gordon Elementary was approved by the North Kitsap School Board at its March 27 meeting at a cost of about $411,000.

The project will be funded by proceeds from the voter-approved 2024 capital levy. It will provide new playground equipment replacing the equipment, which has reached the end of its useful life, per school board documents. American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible playground equipment will be implemented in the same location as the current playground equipment and will add swings, including an accessible basket swing on the upper playfield.

Construction is scheduled to take place this summer, with completion expected prior to the start of the 2025/2026 school year.

In other school facility news, the board also approved emergency repairs for the heating line at North Kitsap High School at a cost of $90,000.

On Feb. 26, a NKHS custodian discovered steaming water bubbling up between concrete panels in the courtyard in front of the gymnasium, per documents. District maintenance staff responded and over the next few days determined that the buried heating supply and return lines, responsible for transporting hot water from the music building’s boiler room to the gymnasium HVAC system, had ruptured beyond repair.

Facilities staff, in partnership with a local contractor, installed two temporary bolt-on patches to reduce water loss and restore heat to the gym. However, the repairs did not fully stop the leak, and the temporary patches are now beginning to fail. The damaged lines, estimated to be 20–30 years old and approximately 45 feet in length, are severely deteriorated and must be replaced immediately to prevent a complete failure of the heating system in the gym building, documents read.

“Given the immediate threat to essential operations and the potential for further property damage, this situation qualifies as an ‘emergency’ under (school board policy)…which defines emergency as: ‘unforeseen circumstances beyond the district’s control that present a real, immediate threat to the proper performance of essential functions or will likely result in material loss or damage to property, bodily injury, or loss of life if immediate action is not taken.’”

In accordance with the policy, the business office has authorized an emergency repair contract with Swift Plumbing to procure and install new insulated steel heating lines. Additional follow-up work will include trench backfilling, sidewalk restoration, and repairs to the plumbing chase on the exterior of the music building’s boiler room wall.

The playground will be ADA-accessible.

The project also includes a swingset.