Last week was an irregularly contentious meeting of the Clinton Board of Education and parents over the accessibility of playground equipment at Clinton Schools.

The contention of Tyler and Brandy Smith is the district is not doing enough for its students with special needs to be able to have access to playground equipment at its three schools. Superintendent Curt Nettles says he feels for the students who cannot get around and do all the things of their peers, but he notes they do what they need to accommodate those students.

One of the allegations against the school district is that the playgrounds are not in compliance with ADA standards which Nettles explains is often a misunderstood requirement.

The upcoming renovation of the high school football field and other athletic facility improvements in the last few years have come under scrutiny from those advocating for improvements to playground equipment but Nettles points out, those projects have taken several years of planning, and planning for a playground improvement requires equal consideration.

It was suggested to the Clinton Board of Education last week that the district and community work together to fundraise for this effort. Nettles says personally, he does not like that idea because the community already pays taxes into the school system for things like playgrounds and facility maintenance.

There is frustration on the side of the parents that the Board of Education is not communicating with them about this. Nettles says the activity on social media kept the topic on the Board's radar but he also there have been other one-on-one conversations that took place as well.

Nettles indicates he has not been contacted by anyone seeking an inspection of district playground equipment and also points out the district's insurance inspects the equipment a couple of times per year and has seen no major issues that needs correcting in those inspections.