East Kootenay schools get playground cash

Pinewood Elementary in Cranbrook B.C. celebrates its playground funding! (From left) PAC Secretary Debbie Therrien , PAC Vice Chair Kim MacBride, PAC Chair Susan Costello, MLA Bill Bennett, Pinewood School Principal Karen Giles, School District 5 Superintendent Bill Gook, and School District 5 Secretary/Treasurer Rob Norum.

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Four East Kootenay elementary schools have received a total of $150,000 in the final phase of the repair, improvement and replacement of their playgrounds.

Who will benefit:

• School District 5 Pinewood Elementary in Cranbrook -$50,000

• School District 5 TM Roberts Elementary in Cranbrook - $25,000

• School District 6 Lindsay Park Elementary in Kimberley - $50,000

• School District 6 Eileen Madison Primary School in Invermere- $25,000

“Pinewood Elementary truly appreciates the government recognizing the need for playgrounds within our province and making it a priority to help supply money for both new and upgraded playgrounds. As one of the smaller schools within SD 5, providing a newer playground for our students has felt like a daunting prospect. We’d like to thank MLA Bill Bennett and the SD 5 Board of Education for their support and helping to bring us that much closer to our goal,” said PAC Secretary Debbie Therrien.

An additional $3.3 million in playground funding is being provided for 80 schools across all 60 school districts.

“Usually government funding isn’t about monkey business, but this payment sure is! Kids need a proper place to be active and get silly. That’s what recess and playgrounds are all about. I’m sure the kids at these schools will be thrilled,” said East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett

This is the final phase of an $8 million playground funding commitment made by Premier Christy Clark and Education Minister Abbott last September for elementary and middle schools in British Columbia. It brings the total number of schools benefiting from the two-year playground funding program to 227 across the province.

For the first phase of the program, the B.C. government provided more than $2 million to 23 school districts for new playground equipment at 41 priority middle and elementary schools without playgrounds.

Under the second phase, 106 Parent Advisory Councils in 34 school districts are being reimbursed over $2.4 million for the purchase of new playground equipment.