Hot playground slides? Collier County replacing sunshades as necessary

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NORTH NAPLES, Fla. – Collier County Public Schools is removing $4 million worth of sunshades from school playgrounds as needed.

District leaders are saying the 410 sunshades that were installed as many as 10 years ago are inefficient and require too much manpower to reinstall, especially because they must be removed during storms.

The sunshades were approved to address concerns about playground equipment getting too hot. But recess is only a little longer than 20 minutes.

Parents like Callie Parascando feel the district wasted resources purchasing the sunshades.

“They could have spent it on a lot of other things. It’s not like they’re out there all day,” she said.

But the concern about children safety during recess still exists. The district is replacing older, larger sunshades with smaller ones that cost $7,500 each. Some people believe a price tag cannot be placed on the safety of school children.

The district will continue to use the larger sunshades until they become damaged and need to be removed.

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