As part of the provincial budget, the NDP government announced it would be providing over 20 million dollars to fund new playgrounds across Alberta.

Premier Notley shared that the government stands behind providing a great education and it is critical that all Alberta students get a positive start from a young age.

"I am happy to announce that we will be providing new grant funding to support playground construction on all new school construction projects that offer kindergarten to grade six programming. This grant funding will go back to projects announced in 2014; new replacement schools offering K to 6 programming will also be eligible, if the school is being built on a new site without an already existing playground. This means that more than 50 previous announced schools are eligible for a grant of $250,000 to support the construction of a playground."

Twenty million dollars of funding will be rolled out over the next four years including future elementary schools. "This playground initiative supports our youngest students while reducing the burden of fundraising on parents and in so doing it is going to help make life better and more affordable for Alberta families."

This news will come as a huge relief to the Friends of Fireside but a disappointment to RancheView School Fundraising Society who is excluded due to being announced in 2013, according to Lindsay Harvey, Press Secretary, Education. RancheView currently has raised over $71,000 of the $150,000 so it can apply for a matching grant.