TAMWORTH High School’s maintenance backlog is so big, year seven students will be in their 30s by the time it is cleared; a local politician has claimed.
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In a speech to the legislative council on Wednesday night, Tamworth Labor MLC Daniel Mookhey said Tamworth High School had the fourth highest maintenance backlog of NSW schools.
The New England region, he said, had the lowest maintenance contingency fund in the state. Mr Mookhey said the repairs needed at the school were not “luxury items” with reports of broken heaters, fans, leaking taps and toilets as well as peeling paint and carpet.
“They could all be fixed if the government was willing to inject an additional $28 million dollars into the maintenance budgets of New England schools,” he said.
“The government has its priorities backwards. Budget blowouts on Sydney-centric vanity projects should never have precedence over the quality of the learning environments at this state’s schools.
“Children in Tamworth’s schools are being forced to learn in second rate environments because Kevin Anderson and the Liberal-National Government have failed to address the growing maintenance backlog.
“Principals and teachers in Tamworth are doing the best they can with the meager resources that they have at their disposal.”
Tamworth High School was named in a report of NSW Schools as having a $2.39 million maintenance backlog in November last year; but new figures released suggest the school was allocated maintenance funding of $115,722 for the 2016/2017 financial year.
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said work had been underway at the school, along with others in the electorate, over the Christmas break.
“In late January this year I announced that more than $33 million dollars in work had commenced and was ongoing in relation to minor capital works and maintenance in our region,” he said.
“There was scheduled maintenance right across the Christmas holiday period, the schools that benefited were Barraba, Gunnedah, Manilla, Tamworth High, Tamworth Public School, Tamworth South Public School and Tintinhull Public School.” “We are continually investing in local schools in terms of school maintenance.”
The Leader has contacted the Department of Education and Communities for comment.
