A playground for students at the Dzantiki’i Heeni campus is one step closer to being built, after years of planning and months of fundraising for the project.
At a special meeting on Jan. 15, the Juneau School District Board of Education approved up to $180,000 in funding to match a private grant for the playground in a 6-1 vote. The board voted to use money from the RALLY Special Revenue Fund, a program which was discontinued after last school year.
Dzantiki’i Heeni used to be a middle school, and had no dedicated playground. Now it serves students on a ranging from preschool through high school, including Montessori Borealis, Juneau Community Charter School and Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi High School. The three schools moved to the Dzantiki’i Heeni in 2024, following the JSD school consolidation. Several parents and educators spoke during public testimony, urging the board to commit funds.
Montessori employee Dustin Stogner described the limitations of the current space. Stogner was one of several who testified to note that the current recess area is often dotted with dog feces.
“I have kids pushing utility spools, I have kids playing with logs … kids playing with sticks, because they have nothing else to do on this playground other than to run around in the mud,” Stogner said.
Parent Michelle Nakamura said Thursday was not the first time she had testified in favor of the playground. “The longer we drag this out, the more it costs, including the billing of hours by the city’s project manager, just to keep showing up to meetings about this,” Nakamura said. “Kids can’t play on meeting minutes. Please fund the playground.”
Choosing specific playground pieces has been challenging, in part because the campus serves such a wide range of ages. In meetings over the past year, JSD has said that accessibility and safety were a priority in decision making. The board’s action on Jan. 15 commits up to $180,000 from remaining RALLY Special Revenue Fund dollars toward playground equipment. The district is using this specifically to secure the full match from Benito and Frances C. Gaguine Foundation, which has pledged up to $250,000 toward the project. The school district has raised roughly $70,000 raised through a “Buy A Brick” campaign.
In September 2025, the Juneau Assembly approved $735,000 to prepare the site, including safety surfaces and fencing. The Assembly-backed site prep is set to begin this summer.
