OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Pictured is the newly updated Fredonia Central School District playground, located at the main campus. The playground was upgraded as part of the district’s latest Capital Outlay project.

All work, no play does not apply to school children. Now, at Fredonia’s main campus, every student has a chance to play on the school playground.

While substantial capital improvements to Fredonia Central Schools sparked a lot of debate over the past school year, the district’s latest Capital Outlay project — focused on improvements to the main campus playground — faced little opposition. The work is done and students are already enjoying the benefits.

“That work is complete and the students are having a good time,” Superintendent Dr. Brad Zilliox said.

While the district already had a playground in place, it was not ADA-compliant, both in terms of accessibility and equipment. The redesigned space includes new ADA-compliant surfacing and equipment, installed alongside the previous equipment that was deemed to be in good shape. The upgrades were done as part of the annual $100,000 Capital Outlay project allotment from New York State, with interior flooring also included as part of the project. The playground equipment was provided by Parkitects and the design was handled by architects from Young and Wright.

“It’s fun and exciting. We’re glad to have that off our checklist,” Zilliox said.

In other district news, the Fredonia Central School District enrollment has seen an increase of 20 students since last school year. Zilliox called the increase “good news” and welcomed the new students to the district.

The district has also seen an improvement in its rate of homelessness since the end of last school year. Fredonia had 46 students classified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act when school dismissed at the end of June. When the new school year began at the end of August, that number reduced to 32 students. As of early September, the total was below 30 students. Dr. Margie Wright, Chief Officer for Curriculum and Human Resources, commended the district faculty and staff for their efforts to support students in need throughout the district.

The Fredonia Board of Education is in the process of updating its operating procedures, which will be clearly stated in documents as they are completed in the coming months. Fellow Board members credited Board President Steve Johnston for his work to update and formalize the Board’s procedures moving forward.

The district is also in the process of narrowing its list of five potential candidates for the open Student Representative seat on the Board of Education. The district hopes to name a representative in the coming weeks.

The next meeting of the Fredonia Board of Education is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the High School Library.