A maintenance backlog at one Illawarra school could take almost two decades to fix if current funding levels are maintained, the opposition has warned.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two Wollongong high schools are among the top 10 most neglected in the state when it comes to maintenance, education department documents obtained by Labor under freedom of information have revealed.
The documents list the maintenance backlog bills for 2173 primary and high schools across NSW.
Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts (WHSPA) ranked third in the state with a maintenance backlog of $2.37 million as of June 30 last year, while Smiths Hill High School in Wollongong ($2.15 million) ranked seventh.
Maintenance undertaken between July and February at WHSPA – totalling about $82,000 – reduces its current figure to $2.29 million.
The work needed at the school – on Lysaght Street at Fairy Meadow – includes, but is not limited to, its sewerage system, floors and walls.
At the current rate of spending, the opposition says it would take 19 years to complete WHSPA’s maintenance program.
The backlog figures relate to a list of work that funding is yet to be allocated to.
Most of those maintenance needs were identified prior to June last year.
Keira MP, and Labor’s Treasury spokesman, Ryan Park described the backlogs as “significant” and called on Education Minister Adrian Piccoli to ensure cash was forthcoming in the June state budget. “The government must make this a priority,” Mr Park said.
“We know it’s not flashy, we know it’s not sexy but basics are important and the community expect that their local schools are maintained and upgraded as they need it.”
Having previously worked as a teacher, Mr Park said problems like worn carpet and broken windows were unnecessary distractions in the classroom.
“I want schools to be focussed on learning, I don’t want them to be running around worrying about things that need to be fixed all the time,” he said.
“Everyone understands things get aged ... things need to be maintained but this government must make the basics a priority.”
Eight of the region’s most neglected schools each had more than $1 million in outstanding work; the top 10 had a combined backlog bill of $15.1 million.
Statewide, the backlogs total $732 million. Great Lakes College Forster Campus topped the NSW list ($3.42 million), followed by Dubbo College Delroy Campus ($2.93 million).
‘No backlog is not possible’: department
The Department of Education says it’s doing all it can to reduce maintenance backlogs at Illawarra schools but it would be impossible to have no outstanding work.
The department has revealed it will pump additional money into schools to help address outstanding maintenance items in “a timely manner”.
On Monday, NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley slammed the Baird government for leaving schools “literally crumbling” and having maintenance “spiralling out of control”.
A department spokesman said the previous NSW Labor government left behind a school infrastructure and maintenance backlog of almost $1 billion.
The government has injected almost $4 billion into schools’ upkeep since 2011, including $342 million in the 2015/16 financial year alone, he said.
“The Department of Education undertakes regular maintenance of school facilities, including preventative/statutory and routine maintenance, planned maintenance and essential urgent repairs,” he said.
The annual maintenance program for individual schools was developed in discussion with principals and the facility’s “life cycle” data taken into account.
The spokesman said the large number of schools across the state meant it was “not feasible to have no backlog maintenance”.
“The Department of Education is focused on ensuring the backlog maintenance liability in our schools is kept as low as possible,” he said.
“The government will be providing additional funding support over the coming years to ensure that outstanding maintenance items are addressed in a timely manner and that our students and staff continue to be provided with educational facilities that meet contemporary teaching and learning requirements.”
