Last spring a girl at Whitman Middle School tripped on the basketball court when her foot got caught between a crack in the pavement.

Fortunately a group of parents and staff were in the process of writing a grant to fund a playground resurfacing project that was turned into the City of Seattle a week after the incident.

The good news came in August when the school's Department of Neighborhood Small and Simple Grant for $8,000 was approved.

Since it is a matching grant, the school ASB (Associated Student Body) and PTSA (Parents Teacher Student Association) both came up with $4,000 each. Some donations came from local businesses.

Research for the proposal was done by the ASB themselves and their ideas were submitted to the Whitman Site Council and the Whitman PTSA.

"They made a model of their idea, got a written estimate and wanted to revamp the blacktop," said Vargas.

With the $16,000 budget secured, it was time for work on the project to begin last Saturday.

The playground's asphalt is in disrepair and had become a safety hazard.

The monies raised will be used to patch up the blacktop, paint lines and striping, while replacing backboards and nets.

Volunteers gathered at the school last Saturday to pull out weeds and grass growing in between cracks. The cracks were cleaned out to a depth of four inches and filled with sand.

When that task is completed, a contractor will come in and the surface around the basketball hoops will be covered with new blacktop.

It was the Whitman students that came up with the idea to improve their basketball courts.

"This has been a project we have tried to get off the ground for a year," Sally Jo Gilbert de Vargas, the school's eighth grade administrator.

The improvements would be an upgrade for other recreation uses and activities by students and the public.

In the proposal statement, more activity on the playfield is said to discourage vandalism and graffiti problems at the school.

Once the blacktop is laid down, a striping machine will be rented. Whitman math students will measure the lines.

Students will use their math skills as part of a learning experience.

"It's a real life math project," said Vargas. "It's pretty low cost, it's not a real ambitious plan financially."

Vargas hopes the project is just the start of more playground improvements in the future. She hopes the project gets people excited to do more work.

A second work party on Saturday, Oct. 8 may be necessary to complete the preliminary work. Call Vargas at 252-1200, ext. 1213, for an update.