PELHAM — A child in a wheelchair can’t get around the playground at Pelham Elementary School, the wood chips are too deep. That really bothers Venuta Carulli.

“The playground is an extension of the school community,” the mother of two said. “We should make the playground reflect the values of the school.”

Carulli and the school community want all kids, no matter their physical challenges, to have a great place to play. The Parent Teacher Organization set up the Pelham School Playground Committee, an ad hoc group, to manage the redesign and renovation of the outdoor space. Carulli chairs the committee and wants the greater community to put money into the project.

At May 13’s spring Town Meeting, residents were asked to authorize $17,250 in Community Preservation Act monies for initial planning and evaluation of the site by Berkshire Design Group. The project will bring the playground into compliance with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. Carulli didn’t assume the article would attract support, but the committee anticipated a happy outcome and scheduled dates in May to take advantage of the remaining school year.

“We will have our kickoff meeting on [May] 17,” Carulli said. The committee and BDG will talk about the improvements they anticipate. A community engagement meeting will be scheduled for the end of May, “where we would be inviting families, grownups and kids, and town members to come and…share their hopes and dreams.”

BDG staff will meet with school officials and teachers to survey them for suggested changes. The designers will huddle with constituents around town to answer questions and gather information. That work will be completed before the end of the school year, after which BDG employees will start onsite survey work.

Those wood chips will have to go. Carulli and other committee members visited newly renovated playgrounds in Amherst, Groff and Kendricks Parks, to check out alternative surfaces. New engineered wood fiber materials are now in use, but suitable options will have to be identified by the consultants.

“We have a lot of concerns about PFAS materials,” Carulli said. It’s “not just what’s in them, but what can come out of them from runoff...[and] where do they go when you need to replace them?”

Some of the equipment will be replaced. Carulli said that some existing swings, called belt swings for their U-shaped plastic seats, will be replaced with swings suitable for wheelchair bound children. Those new swings will be similar to a rollercoaster seat, which feature a safety restraint pulled down from overhead that locks in place and secures a child in the seat.

The old style merry go round may also be replaced. New merry go rounds have a deck at ground level so that children roll directly onto it, with no step up. The grips for riders to hold are wider apart to accommodate a chair. A wheel at the center of the merry go round gives riders control over the rate of spin, but also a way to get going without leg power.

BDG submitted a five part planning and design proposal. The company will gather input from interested groups, establish a design that takes into account the soil, drainage, existing terrain, wetlands, fencing or the lack thereof, and other factors — but Carulli grew enthusiastic when talking about BDG’s view of playgrounds as outdoor learning spaces. A pollinator garden on the edge of the playground, where kids learn about native plants and the lifecycles of caterpillars and butterflies, is a possibility.

The mother of a Pelham second grader and fifth grader, Carulli considers this important work for the community.

“It’s important because all children deserve a play space that is open and available to them, where they can go regardless of their abilities or who they’re with,” Carulli said. “We don’t have that currently and it feels like we are remiss in that department.”