School Parents Build Lush Park for Monte Vista

LA CRESCENTA — For the 682 pupils at Monte Vista Elementary, the official opening of a grassy patch on the school playground was reason to celebrate.

Six months ago, the area was an unused part of the school campus, covered by weeds and rocks. Now, for the first time since the school opened in 1948, students can romp on lush grass instead of pounding the asphalt-covered playground.

For three volunteer parents--Kent Ashcraft, Perry Bacino and Paul Di Mundo--Friday night culminated a broad-based community effort. They worked five months with the financial support of hundreds of other Monte Vista parents to build “Monty’s Park.”

“How was this area transformed into a place of beauty?” asked Monte Vista principal Linda Russo Milano. “People built this park. Let me tell you about three parents who came together with their elbow grease, expertise and pursuit for excellence.”

Before, the weed-infested end of the school’s property was off-limits to students. On Friday, they were everywhere, trotting, crawling and milling around. School officials spoke of the beauty of nature. Parents stood next to newly planted lilies and woody vines. Children sniffed jasmine and ran circles in the park.

“It’s kind of neat to have grass in our school,” said fifth-grader Christopher Tucker. “All of our playground is cement. It’s like the grand opening of Disneyland.”

Monty’s Park boasts an array of plants and seven work areas for science projects. First-grader Esther McBirney understood the serious side of the park. “We’re going to weed and stuff like that,” she said. “There aren’t swings. It’s just for planting.”

Milano said the area was “a rock city . . . an eyesore” when she asked the school’s PTA co-presidents last year to transform it into a student park. The PTA earmarked $10,000 for the project and the Monte Vista Foundation, a private fund-raising group, donated $8,000. No Glendale school district money was used for construction, but the district has agreed to maintain the park.

Ashcraft, Bacino and Di Mundo cleared the lot and broke ground in April. They worked mostly on weekends and after work. “The rocks were the worst,” Ashcraft said. “That place had more rocks than the Irwindale gravel pits.” Di Mundo, who owns a nursery, selected the plants. Bacino, a general contractor, installed the hardscape. Another parent designed the park. A number of firms provided concrete blocks and material at reduced cost.

But two La Crescenta residents with homes bordering the 5,000-square-foot park aren’t so happy.

The homeowners insist they have nothing personal against their student neighbors. It’s the idea of losing their privacy, they say, that peeves them.

“I was in my garage welding and I could still hear the parents talking,” homeowner Tony Gladysz said a day after the park dedication. “This place used to be like heaven. Now, I’ve got noise up to my ears.”