VIENNA — Mathews Elementary School students will have something to look forward to at recess next spring.

That’s because the Mathews Board of Education approved a quote from DWA Recreation-GameTime for playground equipment and its installation, bringing a project the board approved a fund for in 2024 closer to reality.

School board member Beth Haddle, who also chairs the Baker Playground Project board, explained to residents and school officials at Wednesday’s board meeting that the project’s cost was approximately $390,000. The board had to approve the project at the meeting to be eligible to apply for a matching $100,000 grant from GameTime, which would bring the playground’s total cost to $291,000.

Haddle said the other portion changing the cost was the basketball court, which they carved out because GameTime wanted too much money. She said Superintendent Russell McQuaide was going to speak to C. Tucker Cope and Associates, the design-builder for a $1.9 million gymnasium at the elementary school, to see if they would prep the area for cement.

“Tucker and Cope, right now, the quote was $15,000 for just the cement work for the basketball court,” Haddle said. “So Russ is hoping to get it down a few thousand and the rest will be covered by donors.”

McQuaide added that they will need to buy basketball hoops for the court, which will cost between $1,100 and $1,300.

McQuaide broke down the project’s funding ahead of the resolution’s passing, noting that they were “really fortunate” to sell Currie Elementary School for an estimated $186,000. The sale was approved by the board in July, right after the auction’s conclusion.

“I’m thinking it was around $51,000 in donations so far and we’ll probably use school funding through permanent improvements for about $53,000,” McQuaide said. “If we continue on with any of the nice giving — we’ve had so many people, so generous, and we’re so grateful to all of them and you never know, that $53,000 may diminish.”

Haddle thanked the board for their efforts with the project, saying, “It’s been a long time coming”.

And the board isn’t done collecting donations.

The school board accepted a $7,755 donation from Ronald Tomko, Diane Antel and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, in memory of John Tomko and James Antel.

The board started seeking donations for the project in late April 2024, after it was revealed the current playground would be torn down because of the renovation of the school’s gymnasium.

The Playground Project was put in place to rebuild and relocate it, according to a project brochure by Mathews Public Relations and Marketing Supervisor Kate Keller, Baker Elementary School Principal Michael King and Haddle.