Decatur County Schools seek bids for Pre-K playground surfacing project

A new poured-in-place rubber surface could give Decatur County’s pre-K students a safer place to run, climb and land, replacing a harder play area with a 28-by-46-foot brown-and-black surface built over an existing concrete pad with a playground structure already in place.

Decatur County Schools is inviting sealed bids for the project, which carries a completion target of June 15, 2026. Families watching the district’s early-learning spaces will see more than a construction job in the notice: the upgrade is aimed at the kind of daily outdoor use that makes safety and accessibility especially important for four-year-olds and younger children.

The district says interested bidders must contact Keith Dickson for an onsite inspection. Dickson is listed on the school system’s public staff and department page as Transportation Facilities Manager, and the posting gives his district email for contractor questions. The notice also lays out standard public-school procurement requirements, including contractor licensing, liability insurance and the district’s right to accept or reject any bid.

The project lines up with state and federal guidance on early childhood play spaces. Tennessee’s pre-K environment guidance says preschool settings should include resilient surfacing and maintained playgrounds, while Tennessee playground guidance defines protective surfacing as the shock-absorbing material in the use zone around playground equipment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says outdoor play in early care and education supports healthy development, but also brings injury risks that providers have to manage.

For Decatur County, the timing matters. A completed surface by mid-June would allow the district to finish the work before the next school year, giving the youngest students a refreshed play area without waiting until fall. It also shows the school system continuing to manage facilities work even as classes wind down and summer maintenance season begins.

The surfacing bid is part of a broader set of operational moves in the district. Decatur County Schools’ live feed also shows the system seeking applicants for a Pre-K special education teacher for the 2026-27 school year, a sign that staffing and facilities planning are moving forward at the same time. In a small district, those decisions shape what parents see first: classrooms, playgrounds and the condition of the buildings their children use every day.