NSW to fund flood-affected schools via $67m relief package

Dominic Perrottet says flood-affected Northern Rivers schools will receive funding to rebuild and get students back into the classroom.

NSW has announced a $67m funding package to help flood-affected schools.

The money will go towards rebuilding schools, replacing equipment and helping teachers counsel students.

Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the funding during a visit to the Northern Rivers village of Wardell.

“Our No. 1 focus is get kids back into the classroom as quickly as possible,” he told reporters.

NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole and Premier Dominic Perrottet have spent the week in northern NSW.

“We've done that, and now we need to move to the rebuild, and we need to rebuild schools like Wardell Public School more resilient than it was before, and we’ll do that.”

The state-funded package was announced a day after NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole blasted the federal government for not contributing to a separate grant for rebuilding homes.

Mr Perrottet said on Tuesday his officials had a strong relationship with their federal counterparts.

“I'm in regular contact with the Prime Minister and we’re also continuing as we work through different packages as needs arise – we reach out, advise them and have their teams work with us on it,” he said.

“But ultimately, the people of the Northern Rivers can’t wait … you only have to be here, going from community to community to community, to see the utter devastation.”

The new funding package will include $10 million for families to replace school items like bags and uniforms, and $6 million for staff to replace equipment.

Early childhood education centres were promised $9 million to rebuild services, and there will also be $9.5 million for trauma training for school staff to support students.

TAFE will get $29.7 million to replace materials and support staff with counselling.

Originally published as NSW to fund flood-affected schools via $67m relief package