The B.C. government is refusing to fully fund a playground for a new inner-city Vancouver school, angering parents who are being forced to raise thousands of dollars so their children have somewhere to play.

The new school, which will cost $9 million, will replace Charles Dickens Elementary, which was built in 1913.
(CBC)

The province, as part of its program to protect schools against earth- quakes, is replacing one of the oldest schools in Vancouver.

The new school, which will cost $9 million, will replace Charles Dickens Elementary, which was built in 1913.

It will be completed next spring, but unless parents open their chequebooks and wallets, it won't include a playground.

Parents say they are shocked the province is spending millions on the school, but refuses to pay $70,000 for a playground.

Instead, the school can apply for a grant, leaving local parents on the hook for the bulk of the cost.

Claudia Sjoberg, one of the parents leading the fundraising effort for the playground, told CBC News on Tuesday that the provincial government's policies are hypocritical.

'It is also a bit ridiculous in light of the fact that the provincial government has some serious initiatives about childhood obesity, and promoting health and promoting fitness.'—Parent Claudia Sjoberg

"We feel not only that it's unfair, but it is also a bit ridiculous in light of the fact that the provincial government has some serious initiatives about childhood obesity, and promoting health and promoting fitness," said Sjoberg.

"Yet something as integral as a playground and large motor skill development that children can achieve through playing on the playground, they're not actually going to put into place," she said.

So far, the parents have raised $31,000 through raffles and other fundraising projects, but Sjoberg said she thinks the province should absorb a greater share.

The government has created two grant programs specifically for playgrounds, which the school can apply for, but the most an individual school would receive is $20,000, less than one-third of the cost of the Dickens playground.

Ken Denike, the chair the Vancouver School Board, told CBC News the problem is that schools across the province are applying for the same grants and there isn't enough money to go around.

"I think they have opened the tap, but it's dripping where we need a flow," Denike said of the provincial government's funding.

Forty Vancouver schools have expressed an interest in the grant programs, he said.