Prince George, B.C. – The provincial government has announced $263,500 in gaming grant funds for parent advisory councils (PACs) and district parent advisory councils (DPACs) in the Prince George area.

The yearly payout is a portion of the $11,121,840 being distributed province-wide this year. The grants range in size from $377 to $21,540 and go to public and independent schools in the region (for a full listing click here).

“It’s wonderful, it’s a good news story. Typically, what that represents is $20 per student,” says PGDPAC president Gillian Burnett.

“It’s used mostly to support extra curricular activities. That could include anything from uniforms for sports teams, field trips, and bussing for away games. DPACs use the money to put on presentations from keynote speakers.”

This school year Burnett says the PGDPAC will also use the money to put on an upcoming mini-conference for parents on how PACs can become more effective and for a PAC café early in the new year.