Province to fund playground in spite of potential contest money
A southeast elementary school competing for corporate fundraising dollars to build a playground may be the benefactor of as much as $450,000 after a last-minute funding injection from the province.
St. Peter School in Penbrooke Meadows is one of four finalists in the Kraft Heinz Project Play Contest, vying for up to $250,000 in a vote-in contest to fund recreational uses.
But after hearing about their plight, Education Minister David Eggen confirmed late Thursday he will fund the playground at $200,000 whether the school wins the contest or not.
“This is incredible news for St. Peter School and the community of Penbrooke Meadows,” said Cheryl Low, chairwoman for the Catholic school board.
“We value play, know it is an important part of child development and thank the government for supporting discovery, creativity and friendships. “We look forward to the results of this project and seeing how other deserving Calgary Catholic schools may benefit from future playground grants.”
The surprising turn around comes in the same week parent groups were criticizing the province for underfunding basic resources for schools, putting them in the position of competing in contests for private sector fundraising.
Barb Silva, spokeswoman for Support Our Students, said it’s unjust that students are increasingly dependent on corporate contests to get something as basic as a playground, which is critical to learning.
And the trend of growing dependence on corporate funding, she added, absolves governments from taking the responsibility to fund all schools equally.
“This is physical literacy and it’s critical in making sure kids are ready and able to learn.
“Why are we celebrating fundraisers instead of talking about the fact that schools are actually having to compete for funding for basic resources?
“Why is it that some kids get playgrounds at their schools and others just don’t, simply by luck?”
But after liaising with the MLA for the southeast Calgary area and learning about the school’s dire need, Eggen has confirmed the funding.
“Our government understands how important playgrounds are to schools and to local communities that surround them,” he said.
“That’s why I was pleased to approve $200,000 to build a new playground at St. Peter School in Calgary. I will be assessing this project to determine whether to expand to other schools in next year’s budget.”
Ultimately, if the school wins the contest, they could collect as much as $450,000.
School principal Bruce Campbell says a playground would be a huge boost to creative play, providing kids with the type of activity that enhances learning.
“There are so many benefits. It brings the kids together, they learn to cooperate, they learn to be creative,” he says. “And after, they’re much more settled and ready to learn.”
Last year, St. Peter tore down its aging playground, nearly 25 years old, with the hope of building a new one.
Eggen’s funding offer is in addition to the NDP government’s announcement last June to provide $20 million in funding over four years to ensure all newly built K-6 schools would get playgrounds.
Under the program, new elementary schools would be eligible for grants of as much as $250,000 which are retroactive to 2014, allowing 50 previously announced schools provincewide to be eligible.
But critics say the funding is haphazard, abandoning older schools like St. Peter without the fundraising resources to refurbish or build playgrounds and creating inequities among schools and students who may or may not benefit from private funding.
“I am not saying governments should fund everything,” Silva added. “But they absolutely need to fund the basic resources required for learning for all students in a public system, and basic resources include books and playgrounds.”
Kraft Heinz Project Play has been partnering with sports television channels TSN and RDS for a decade, and this year is offering a grand prize of up to $250,000 this year to communities in need of improving recreational spaces for play.
Along with St. Peter Elementary’s playground, three other projects across Canada are competing for funds including a baseball field in Belleville, Ont.; a skate park in Antigonish, N.S.; and upgrades to a football field in Shaunavon, Sask.
Linda Ferrandini, senior marketing manager with Project Play, says that while most of their fundraising efforts go towards public recreational spaces, some of them are now including public school properties.
“Project Play is about community, and creating play spaces that bring communities together. And if there’s a need demonstrated by a school, we are happy to help.”
Kraft Heinz Project Play has awarded up to $2.6 million to 77 communities across Canada over the past 10 years.
The winner of the Project Play contest will be decided based on a voting process which ends Friday at 11:59 p.m. PST with the winner announced on TSN Oct. 28.
Readers interested in voting can go to kraftheinzprojectplay.com.