Our Reader asked us to publicize the matter. In an email to the editorial office, she wrote:

The playground at Municipal Public Kindergarten No. 7 on Górne Młyny Street is closed after the facility’s opening hours. Last year, I discussed this with the headteacher. She told me that she was not obliged to open the kindergarten to other children because she did not want any interventions on the premises. She added that the caretaker would not be cleaning the yard every morning.

I would like to point out that the other municipal kindergartens in Bolesławiec are always open, and you can always go there with your child to use the playground. Somehow, there is no talk of any interventions or increased vandalism.

What is more, if parents came to this playground with their children, they would always keep an eye on things or intervene in “certain situations.” But children still play there, climbing over the fence. [...]

The new equipment in the kindergarten yard was paid for from the city budget, meaning from our taxes, yet ordinary residents cannot use it. There is no place at all, not even the smallest corner, for children to play near this kindergarten. The nearest one is around the Market Square, and farther away there is the one on Łukasiewicza Street, where, in good weather, almost the entire city gathers. Besides, the playground on Łukasiewicza is like a frying pan in sunny weather—there is no shade.

The city is selling plots for residential development near Gdańska, Łokietka and Orla streets. So why does it not consider organizing something for the new residents of these areas? If they do not want to build something new, they should open the existing playground.

Plac zabaw przy Miejskim Przedszkolu Publicznym nr 7 (zdjęcie zostało wykonane podczas ubiegłorocznego festynu)Plac zabaw przy Miejskim Przedszkolu Publicznym nr 7 (zdjęcie zostało wykonane podczas ubiegłorocznego festynu) • Agnieszka Gergont

“The playground is open every day from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,” Ewa Szachowicz, headteacher of Municipal Public Kindergarten No. 7, told us. “After 4:00 p.m., with the consent of the governing authority, [czyli bolesławieckiego magistratu – przyp. red.] the facility is closed. We do this because when the playground was open to everyone, we found beer bottles, cans and broken glass there the next day.”

“This playground was opened for use in May last year,” says Beata Sulska, head of the Social Affairs Department at Bolesławiec City Hall. “Soon afterward, the facility was vandalized. It is clear, however, that the head of the institution is obliged to properly secure the property. Hence the decision to close this playground after 4:00 p.m.”

“Of course, kindergartens and playgrounds are built with public funds,” the department head continues. “However, in this case, the newly built facility was vandalized within a short time. And this must be stated clearly: we simply cannot afford constant repairs.”

Update: 2011-05-06 10:45

After this article was published, one of our Readers informed us by email that the playground at the branch of Municipal Public Kindergarten No. 3 (Dolne Młyny Street) is also being closed.

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We received the tip about the playground at MPP No. 7 in Bolesławiec being closed from one of our Readers. If you also have important information, send an SMS, call or email us. We guarantee anonymity.

(information: ii)