B.C. to invest $5 million a year to build school playgrounds
The B.C. government will be spending $5 million a year to build school playgrounds, with 51 new facilities due for completion in time for the 2018-19 school year.
Until now, raising money for playgrounds has been put on the shoulders of parent advisory schools — with some PACs having more ability to generate funds than others.
Education Minster Rob Fleming said he has heard parents who say they need relief from fundraising activities.
Premier John Horgan said something had to be done. “Not every school family has the ability to raise the resources that another school family does,” he said. “And that inequality has led to an uneven mix of playground equipment right across the province. That’s why this funding is so critically important.”
Horgan announced the funding Tuesday afternoon at the Quadra Elementary School playground, with a ready audience of students outside enjoying lunch hour.
He said the government wants to ensure schools have safe, accessible, high-quality playgrounds for students. “They make a real difference in young people’s lives,” he said. “It makes a real difference in their fitness, it makes a real difference to longterm health-care costs and it makes an enormous difference to parent advisory councils who spend an inordinate amount of their time focused on raising money for playgrounds — such as this one that we’re in today.”
Quadra Elementary Grade 5 student Andrew Janz said he is happy that his school will be among those getting a new accessible playground for all students to use. “When I was younger, I used to use playgrounds a lot and I remember some people weren’t able to use them,” he said. “It’s great that nobody’s getting excluded from having fun on the playground.”
There will be two levels of funding this year.
Horgan said 25 schools will each receive $105,000 for universally accessible playgrounds “so that all students in the school can have access to the physical activity and the enjoyment of being outside and laughing and squealing and having joy with their colleagues.
“The remaining 26 schools this year will be receiving a $90,000 grant to upgrade the basic school equipment that we have at most schools,” he said.
Greater Victoria school district vice-chairman Tom Ferris praised the action. “I think this a very important step that the government is making because the physical activity and well-being and the safety of our students is always topmost in our minds.”