More than $276,000 will be spent on Wagga schools during the holidays, but critics say it’s a pittance compared to what is needed.
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The funding, revealed by Wagga MP Daryl Maguire this week, included more than $100,000 for Kooringal Public School, almost $30,000 each for Forest Hill and Mount Austin public schools and $28,000 for roofing work at Brungle Public School. Ladysmith and Lake Albert public schools would also see more than $20,000 worth of maintenance works carried out.
Mr Maguire said it was a good use of the summer break to carry out important projects while students were off enjoying their holidays
“Just like your family home, there are always jobs to be done to keep our schools in top condition,” Mr Magurie said. “With a $25 billion property portfolio of 2,200 schools there will always be maintenance to be done, but good management will keep the list as short as possible and we are here doing just that.”
The funding is part of a package revealed in the state budget earlier this year, which came after months of criticism from Labor. Data obtained by the Opposition under the Government Information (Public Access) Act showed there was $775 million worth of work that had been logged but not done.
Labor for Wagga spokesman Dan Hayes said Mr Maguire’s funding was just 5 per cent of the $5.5 million needed to bring schools in the Wagga electorate up to scratch.
“I think the priorities of the state government are very clear when they’ll spend $2.1 billion to knock down and rebuild Sydney stadiums while schools in Wagga get funding for just 5 per cent of their maintenance backlog,” he said.
“Kids are going to schools that need an enormous amount of work and this is just another example of Wagga only getting a little bit of what it needs.”
However, Mr Maguire said the maintenance blitz showed the government was committed to public education.
“Every child deserves to have access to great facilities, wonderful teachers and get an excellent education and that is what we are delivering for students,” Mr Maguire said.