RE: MEDIA ADVISORY: San Diego Unified School District and City of San Diego Celebrate End of Construction on McKinley Elementary School Joint-use Park (plain text version)

Media advisory from the San Diego Unified School District, 5-22-17

San Diego Unified School District and City of San Diego Celebrate End of Construction on McKinley Elementary School Joint-use Park

WHAT:  San Diego Unified School District and City of San Diego leaders will join more than 400 students, parents and community members at a press conference and ceremonial ribbon cutting to celebrate the end of construction on the new McKinley Elementary School Joint-use Park in the North Park Community. 

WHEN:  Tuesday, May 23 - 10 to 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:  McKinley Elementary School, 3045 Felton St., San Diego, CA 92104
Media parking will be available on site by entering the parking lot off Redwood Street (north side of campus). Media and guests may also park on Palm Street (south side) for close access to the site.  

VISUALS:  Ceremonial ribbon-cutting, students participating in colorful parachute activity on the fields, physical fitness activities, district/city leaders speaking to students, parents and community members at press conference.

GUEST SPEAKERS/INTERVIEWS:  Lee Dulgeroff, chief of Facilities Planning & Construction at San Diego Unified School District; Herman Parker, director of the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department; and Deb Ganderton, principal of McKinley Elementary School.

PROJECT OVERVIEW:  The joint-use park is an approximately 1.34-acre site at McKinley Elementary School. The improvements include natural grass turf, new trees and other landscaping, irrigation, a baseball backstop, an expanded asphalt-concrete play area with play court markings and a decomposed granite running path. There is also concrete paving for accessibility, security gates and fencing, as well as renovation of site walls, stairs and ramps as required. Construction began May 2016. The more than $2.1 million project is funded by San Diego Unified's Proposition Z, the school district's capital improvement bond measure passed by voters in 2012. The district is developing the park, and the city will maintain it.

This project supports the district's goal to create quality neighborhood schools and the city's Play All Day Parks Program. The facility will enhance physical and outdoor education opportunities for students, while providing recreational, social and cultural benefits to the community. The joint-use park was conceptually designed in conjunction with the community and within the guidelines of the city's North Park Community Plan.

BACKGROUND:  The City of San Diego and San Diego Unified School District have been cooperating in the development of numerous joint-use recreational facilities for more than 60 years. To date, the city uses more than 280 acres of school district property for more than 70 joint-use fields/parks. The facilities are used by the schools during school hours, then opened to the community after school, on weekends and during school breaks. Under the new Play All Day Parks Program, the city and district committed to developing over 45 additional joint-use fields/parks during the next five to 10 years. 

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CONTACT: Cynthia Reed-Porter, Facilities Communications Supervisor, 619-546-3378 or creed-porter@sandi.net

www.sandiegounified.org | Facebook - www.facebook.com/sandiegounified | Twitter - @sdschools | Instagram - sandiegounified

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