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Home >> Resources >> What's New >> Playground Equipment Draw
BCCPAC Playground Equipment Draw Process
The one-time grant to BCCPAC of $1 million dollars for playground equipment grants, provided by the Ministry of Education, is now being distributed to the successful applicants. BCCPAC would like to thank all our members who filled out the application form, especially for the answers to the questions that will assist us in sharing much needed data with the Ministry of Education. Many PACs, in all areas of the province, responded on the need and challenges they have concerning playground structures.
The process to determine which BCCPAC applicants would receive a portion of the grant money began with the selection of the volunteer Ad hoc Playground Grant Committee. Members of the Committee were a selection of parents from different districts, whose children were no longer attending an elementary or middle school, along with two Board members.
The first piece of data that the Committee reviewed was a BCCPAC member survey done in May, 2007. This survey was the first indication that there is a tremendous need for playground equipment replacement in schools. While BCCPAC had no way of knowing how many applications would be received and how much the applicants would require, it was obvious that the $1 million would not be adequate to meet the need. After lengthy discussions on the information that was available and the diversity of views from the Committee, the Committee reached consensus to allocate the grants by a lottery, which was clearly stated on the application form.
The Committee then decided the grants would be allocated according to those who requested less than $10,000 and those who requested more than $10,000. A total of 633 applications were received and a total of $11,913,889,92 was requested in these applications. While this was the total amount of the grants requested--the maximum amount of a single grant was $20,000. Actual estimates of the total costs for playground structures (provided by 629 applicants) ranged from $23,683,520 to $25,360,723.
The selection of the PACs that would receive grants was done through a draw. Numbers were assigned to each applicant. A label with the number was produced and affixed to each application form. Daniel Lau,the BCCPAC Accounting Clerk, drew the numbers. He had no knowledge of which PAC he was drawing. The draw was witnessed by an independent person who has no connections to BCCPAC or children in the public education system.
Once a number was drawn it was recorded on two separate forms by two volunteers. At the end of the draw, two different volunteers reconciled the numbers with each applicable PAC and prepared a list of the grant recipients. This list was double checked by volunteers to ensure accuracy and then forwarded to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry announced the recipients and the amounts they would receive when it published its news release.
BCCPAC will continue to advocate for safe and appropriate playground equipment as outlined in the following member resolutions.
The data from the applications is being collected into a report which will be sent to the Ministry of Education and shared with our members.
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