Anytime a private entity can do something for which taxpayers would otherwise have to foot the bill, it’s a good deal for all concerned — especially when the most direct beneficiaries are children.

Were it not for a contest being sponsored by Together Counts, some elementary school somewhere would have to use taxpayer money to replace its playground. But one of the grand prizes for the contest is a new playground, and Suffolk’s Booker T. Washington Elementary School is going after the prize.

The sand on the playground has become a safety issue, according to guidance counselor Denise Singleton, because the community uses the playground on the weekends and leaves all manner of materials there that are inappropriate on a playground.

The sand can easily cover them and then reveal them as a child is running or playing. Teachers and other staff keep an eye out, but there’s always the chance they will miss something.

But the recycled rubber the school hopes to replace the sand with would not as easily cover dropped items.

It is a shameful world we live in where someone would leave an item inappropriate for children on a playground, or even take it there in the first place. But fortunately, there are also organizations like Together Counts.

Singleton is encouraging community members to vote for Booker T. Washington in the contest. Even if they don’t win a new playground, there are other prizes: $30,000 or $5,000 worth of wellness program resources.

You can enter Booker T. Washington, or the school of your choice, at www.togethercounts.com/at-school/win-for-your-school/sweepstakes.