Pick your playground

POST FALLS — Students at Ponderosa Elementary School in Post Falls are readying for an election that will directly affect the future of recess.

This year, the students will get the chance to select a piece of playground equipment that will be purchased using money from fundraising. Principal Kathy Baker told The Press Friday that the school has held successful playground equipment votes in the past and the process is a great way to get students directly involved.

"It is their playground and they're definitely passionate about it," Baker said. "There's going to be some lobbying going on for sure."

Box Tops for Education, a nationwide charity that donates 10 cents to local schools for each box top collected from a participating product, is the primary fundraising mechanism for the equipment. Baker added that the school's Parent-Teacher Organization also hosted a fundraiser where kids sold items such as wrapping paper and cookie dough.

"We're just waiting on the final tally from the fundraisers so they know what kind of budget they have to work with," she said.

Once the final amount of funds is determined, Baker said the students are given the opportunity to do research on their Chromebooks and present their ideas. The process is a good life lesson in budgeting, Baker said.

"They're just as shocked as I am by the cost of playground equipment these days," she added.

Once the ideas have been processed, the selections go to the district office for approval. Baker said the approval process ensures that the playground equipment follows safety standards and that some pieces of equipment, such as merry-go-rounds, are not allowed.

"Once we have a list of what's OK, then we have a vote," Baker said.

Baker said the focus is to replace the existing pieces of wooden playground equipment with more modern pieces. Since everything is generated by the students themselves, she will only have an idea of what the new equipment will look like when she is presented with the selections.