Parents of students attending Mount St Thomas Public School are angry their school is getting an "off-the-shelf" hall when private schools are building bigger and better halls for a fraction of the cost.The biggest concern of the school's P&C is that their new $2.5 million hall will not be large enough to seat all students.A Mercury investigation of progress across the region reveals site preparations have begun after the school was awarded $2.5 million for a new hall, canteen and covered outdoor learning area from the Federal Government's $14.7 billion Building the Education Revolution.But P&C president Tracey Kirk-Downey is outraged that the new hall will not accommodate enough seats for all 320 students. The only way the entire school will fit in the hall is if students sit on the floor."This money comes along once in a blue moon and with $2.5 million we were hoping to get a hall that fits all of our children in on a chair," Ms Kirk-Downey said."It is unreasonable to expect children to sit through presentations and assemblies on their bottoms on the floor."Ms Kirk-Downey said one private school had built a 1000-student hall for just $800,000 and Mount St Thomas could have achieved something similar if schools were given the power to decide how to spend their stimulus funding."Private schools are constructing purpose-built halls and facilities, while we are getting a standard Department of Education 'off-the-shelf' kit hall," Ms Kirk-Downey said."It works out to about $13,000 per square metre which we don't think is very good value."Ms Kirk-Downey said she had written on behalf of the school community to NSW Minister for Education and Training Verity Firth, requesting she intervene to ensure the school receives a larger hall, instead of the proposed size.Cunningham Labor MP Sharon Bird said she had conveyed the P&C's concerns to Ms Firth."It should be noted that whilst the Commonwealth Government is funding school projects, delivery of the projects are the responsibility of the NSW Government and managing contractor."Gilmore Liberal MP Joanna Gash said individual P&Cs should have been given control of cash.