Drug sniffer dogs set to go back into four more SA schools after requests from principals

Drug sniffer dogs will hit SA schools as soon as Covid bans ease. Four schools will be the first targets.

Drug sniffer dogs will be deployed at four government schools once Covid-19 restrictions are eased, parliament has heard.

Education Minister John Gardner said the schools had requested the intervention by SA Police. However, the call has been put on hold as a result of the pandemic.

“While we are limiting the number of adults allowed on school sites, while we are preventing parents from entering their own school site … there’s obviously a ­priority that gets considered in relation to whether this is the right time to run what is in ­effect a part of the drug ­education program,” Education Minister John Gardner said.

So far, two schools – Birdwood High School and Roma Mitchell Secondary – have had visits from sniffer dogs, but no drugs were detected at either school.

The four schools that have requested a visit have not been named by the Education Department for operational reasons.

Senior constables Nic Whiteside and Dan Lacey with drug-detecting dogs Carli Tilley.

Sending dogs into schools was promised by the Liberal Party in the 2018 state election.

Mr Gardner said the program was important and would resume as soon as possible.

Under the program, principals make a request to Education Department chief executive Rick Persse who then contacts SA Police if he is convinced the time is right for such action.

The pause in the program was revealed in a broad-ranging estimates hearing on Thursday.

Parliament also heard that students and staff at Hampstead Primary School, in Greenacres, have endured a long delay in repairing damage from a December 2019 fire because of a dispute with insurers, parliament was told on Thursday.

The fire caused $3.1m damage. But 18 months later, there was still no repair work on the site, ALP member for Torrens Dana Wortley said.

“Children are faced with burnt-out shells on a daily basis and some of the programs previously delivered at the school have had to be put on hold,” she said.

Education Minister John Gardner said there had been “very unfortunate delays” following the “despicable” arson attack.

The MFS inspects arson damage to the Hampstead Primary School.

Insurers had assessed the burnt-out rooms could be rebuilt but this was challenged by Spotless on behalf of the government.

The dispute required further engineering reports which concluded the buildings must be demolished and rebuilt, Mr Gardner said.

An architect is now completing a design for new buildings and a tentative completion target of June 2022 has been set by the Education Department.

Parliament was told the Education Department was assessing whether the Covid-19 lockdown affected building works for Year 7 moving to secondary schools next year. Mr Gardner was confident high schools would accommodate for Year 7s.

Only Playford International will have substantial work on buildings not complete before term 1, 2022.

At Playford, general learning areas would be ready but eight new serviced areas for subjects such as tech studies would not be complete until March, and students would use old facilities until then.

Mr Gardner attributed the delay to the collapse of contractor SA Structural, with the administrator of that company refusing to release engineering drawings, requiring the new contractor to have to repeat that work.

At Norwood Morialta, a sports centre would not be finished and at four other schools – Unley, Seaton, Roma Mitchell and Glenunga – landscaping and car parks would not be complete.

The department has spent $13m on new demountable classrooms which can be used if any school is not ready for Year 7s.

Opposition education spokesman Blair Boyer said that money “could have been spent elsewhere if the government had properly managed the transition”.

Mr Boyer also was concerned by Mr Gardner saying a new $84.4m high school in Rostrevor would not affect zoning in the shared CBD area of Adelaide High and Adelaide Botanic, which are under capacity pressure.

The Rostrevor site, in Mr Gardner’s electorate, has been the middle school campus for Norwood Morialta, which is consolidating all its year levels on The Parade.

Education Department chief executive Rick Persse said options for the CBD and inner north were still being considered, with demographics being assessed – and a new high school in the Prospect area was still a possibility.

Mr Gardner said Adelaide and Adelaide Botanic would lengthen the school day in response to the capacity issue.

“Both schools are redeveloping their timetables to maximise utilisation of existing teaching spaces, including timetabling staggered start and finish times for specific year levels and areas of study,” Mr Gardner said

An early look at accepting three-year-olds in preschool estimated it would add $100m a year to operational costs plus significant capital expenditure, Mr Gardner said.