Parent volunteers of a dry grad party almost lost thousands of dollars after the school district handed down restrictions on inflatables with less than a month to go.
The drug and alcohol-free party, planned for graduating students at MacNeill secondary, was going to include two games using inflatables.
The restrictions were announced by principal John Blair in an email to parents on June 1, four weeks before the June 29 party.
Inflatable carnival games and activities like bouncy castles and slides “have been associated with a high number of injuries and pose liability risks for school districts,” reads the email.
Blair told parents the Richmond School District is not prepared to accept the potential liabilities and “does not support school PACs or school event planners moving ahead with contracting inflatables to be included in school events” unless they are assessed to be low-risk and the vendor contract is fully vetted by the secretary treasurer.
Sonia Kahng, a volunteer on the organizing committee, said the last-minute directive put the organizers at risk of losing “thousands of dollars” in deposits and they were in limbo awaiting a decision from school leadership or the superintendent’s office. To her relief, the inflatables were approved on Tuesday afternoon after a two-week scramble to get contracts and insurance coverage in order.
“We worked very hard to fundraise (a lot of chocolate bars and samosas!) and it is too late to come up with this amount,” Kahng told the Richmond News, adding vendors tried to help with their predicament.
She also thinks the policy is too vague and does not specify the type of inflatables and the ages of students using the inflatables.
“They put this out without thinking about how it would impact plans that have contractual obligations for payment. Our floor plans and itinerary are also finalized,” said Kahng.
If the school district was unable to make accommodations, prizes and gifts for graduating students were going to be cut down.
“If they do not have this flexibility, they should at least provide compensation since we stand to be out thousands of dollars from our contractual obligations and payment for new activities,” Kahng added.
David Sadler, Richmond School District spokesperson, said the restrictions are not a ban on inflatables. The school district is working with schools and rental companies to get “adequate insurance coverage” and ensure contracts guarantee “safe setup and operating procedures.”
“The discussion surrounding inflatables is one of student safety, as these structures present a number of safety risks to participants,” he said, adding the decision was made after consulting the British Columbia Schools Protection Program (SPP).
According to Sadler, the school district is working closely with schools, and several secondary schools have managed to find a solution for using inflatables at their grad events this year.
