What price tag would you put on safety? How about inclusivity?
When children go to school, society wants and expects certain things. Aside from the obvious of being equipped with a quality education, there is also an expectation that children will be safe and have at least the option of inclusion.
While safety can be addressed relatively easily, inclusion can be a bit trickier –especially when considering the varying degrees of student abilities, cognitively and physically.
New playground construction is a good case study when trying to measure the cost of both safety and inclusion, especially so when the money is coming from either public donations or taxes – sometimes both.
Over the past few years, a number of new playgrounds have either been built or are in the process of being fundraised for in Cochrane. The cost of the structures has ranged from a little under $200,000 to in excess of half-a-million dollars. Up until earlier this year, when the province announced playground funding for new elementary school construction, the burden of that cost fell to community groups.
Whenever there are products that must meet a certain safety standard or are a marketed as specialized, the cost rises, in some cases exorbitantly – something that can be seen in the materials being used for these new playgrounds.
No one can argue that schools need playgrounds that are safe and accessible, but the question of how much is too much needs to be addressed – especially when the money is coming from the public purse. That question must also take into account ongoing maintenance and future replacement.
In the case of the rubber flooring – which seems to be becoming the standard – school districts are being put in a difficult position of inheriting an expensive product that might no longer meet safety standards in as little as five years, meaning it will have to be repaired or replaced. That money will ultimately come from taxpayers.
Also, according to companies in the industry, since the government announced it would fund playgrounds – up to $250,000 – designs have become more elaborate as those in charge of fundraising have opted to use that “free” money to ice the cake.
That creates two issues. The first is the fundraisers have effectively put their hands into both pockets looking for money. The second is the government grant was initiated so schools would have playgrounds when they open, but the need for additional fundraising could mean they actually won’t be finished until one or even two years after the school opens.
We support the need for safe and inclusive playgrounds that will help students develop through play, but it is difficult to wrap our heads around the cost of the structures that are destined for publicly-funded institutions.
When designing new playgrounds, it is important to balance what is essential and what are just fancy bells and whistles.
