A maintenance backlog at Towradgi Public School will take 22 years to fix on current funding allocations by the Berejiklian Government, according to statistics released under Freedom of Information (FoI) laws.
Towradgi Public School has a 2016-17 maintenance backlog of nearly $700,000 but was allocated only five per cent of funding ($31,565) to fix the problem.
Other schools in the Wollongong electorate with a long two decades wait to fix maintenance problems include Farmborough Road Public School facing a 21 year wait and Warrawong Public School facing a 20 year wait.
Farmborough Road Public School and Warrawong Public School also received just five per cent allocated funding to plug the maintenance gap.
Nineteen other local schools face substantial maintenance backlogs with waits of over a decade to plug gaps on current funding allocations, including Smiths Hill High School which has a $1.8 million maintenance backlog and on current funding levels will take 18 years to fix.
Repairs of everything from toilet block upgrades, carpet replacements, fixing damaged roofs, to replacing windows will take years to fix in each local school.
Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:
“It is simply unacceptable for our local schools to be unable to repair and maintain toilets, carpet, damaged roofs and windows.
“These FoI statistics confirm that three local schools in my electorate face more than two decades before essential maintenance can be adequately tackled on current allocations of funding by the Berejiklian Government.
“Nineteen other local schools face maintenance delays of over a decade before critical repairs can be undertaken.
“It’s simply not good enough for children in 21st century education to be learning in schools which are crumbling around them.
“The new Minister for Education, Rob Stokes MP should be making it a priority to ensure that each local school in my electorate has the necessary funds to tackle maintenance backlogs without having to wait two decades.”
