Reply to Appletree CH Playground- Is anyone else as outraged as I am?

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Reply to "Appletree CH Playground- Is anyone else as outraged as I am?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm having a hard time getting past the suggestion that a quiet study area be created for 3- and 4-year-old children. That speaks to the general failure to understand the business at hand, on the part of the condo board. I understand that it's frustrating to have a school next door and that the noise can be distracting, but I cannot take "a quiet study area" seriously as a proposed alternative.

I think the point about using the playground being constructed is worth considering, but frankly, it is a goal of most schools to have playgrounds on site. That's what parents want, and it makes it a lot easier for the teachers and school staff to not have to leave the site. [/quote]

The obligation of  the condo board is to its members. [/quote]

I understand that, but the suggestion remains ludicrous. The condo board would better serve its members by not suggesting things that make no practical sense at all. If they truly want to find a compromise that works for everyone, suggesting a "quiet study area" for children that age group is not going to achieve that. The suggestion itself makes it seem like the condo board (and by extension the members it serves) is intentionally suggesting things that will only really serve the condo-residing adults, rather than being any kind of compromise. It sounds to me like the school has already limited the amount of times its students use the playground - perhaps not as much as the condo-residing adults would like, but as much as can reasonably be expected while still accommodating the needs of 8 classes of children to get the physical activity that is both recommended by experts and required by school authorities.[/quote]

AT parent here. I really appreciate your point. Exactly what I was thinking but hadn't been able to articulate.[/quote]

Neither of you seem to understand the role of a condo board. They are not a public or governmental body. Their job is not to find compromises. They have a duty to represent the interests of their members. In fact, they run the risk of being sued by their members for breach of fiduciary duty if they put the interest of their members second.

If Appletree has a lease, deeded access or other contractual rights to the property, then the board would be remiss in violating that contract. However, in the absence of such a contract the board would be remiss to use the the common area in anything other than the way that maximizes benefit for the members. [/quote]

I understand the role of a condo board. The condo board, however, has been representing that it has been trying to reach a compromise with the school. I believe it's disingenuous to say you're trying to find a compromise when the alternatives you're suggesting are non-starters for the other party. There's no way that a "quiet study area" in that space is going to work for the school to still use it for outdoor time. Reducing the number of hours children spend on the playground allows the children to get some outside time and the complaining adults to get some quiet time. Nobody wins. The "quiet study area" plan transforms the area into something that is impractical for one party to use at all. You know what a group of 20 three- or four-year-olds is going to do in any outdoor space? They're going to run around and make noise, whether it's open green space or a playground. This is a transparent move by the condo board to force the children to play elsewhere, which is NOT in the spirit of compromise, as the condo board president and this Abadian person are representing their goals to be.

While we're talking about the obligations and responsibilities of the parties involved, the obligation of the school is to its students. They need outside time. AppleTree is already one of the more strictly academic preschools in the area. It's a lot more academically rigorous than some parents believe is appropriate for the age groups, and many parents prefer a more play-based learning environment. Personally, I think that the condo residents should be grateful that they live next door to AppleTree and not the play-based preschool my child attends, which would probably be a lot noisier as a result of a curriculum that encourages physical activity and play. If I was an AppleTree parent and I was told that children would need to go down the street to a play area that is not even completed, or cross 14th Street in order to use a play area that is unsafe, rather than use a play structure that already exists on site, I would be livid.  [/quote]

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