School stink after hundreds of kids use septic tank every week, inquiry told

A school infrastructure inquiry has heard from parents whose kids have been “sickened” by the stench of the school toilets, and an outpouring of anger about overcrowding.

The festering smell of sewage wafts across the playground at Gillieston Public School in the Hunter, the perimeter is fenced by flimsy pieces of chicken wire and there are so many demountables children are forced to play football at lunchtime on a steep slope.

That’s according to parents’ submissions to an inquiry into school infrastructure which today heard accounts of how population growth across the state is not being matched by appropriate infrastructure.

It comes after a Labor analysis of government spending accused the government of underdelivering to the tune of $1.26 billion on 113 schools across the state last year.

At Gillieston Public School near Maitland, the student population has doubled in just over five years to 300 students as new homes are built in the area.

Numerous parents including dad Todd Sellers in a submission to the inquiry wrote how acrid the smell of the septic tanks is.

There’s a huge stink over Gillieston Public in the Hunter.

“They are emptied by a truck every two weeks with the smell being overwhelming/sickening at times,” Mr Sellers said.

Another parent said another problem wasn’t enough sport offered at the school due to the lack of playground space after demountables.

“This school’s playground is an accident waiting to happen. All of the flatter land has been taken by demountables that keep needing to be added to the growing school and soon there will be no playground left,” they said.

In the latest budget, the state government has promised $1.7 million in funding to hook the school up to the town sewer mains, build a better decent fence and designs for a school upgrade.

P and C president Katie Ferguson said it took seven years for the government to fix the septic tank and said they must build schools when they approve the development of new suburbs for young families.

“I have been complaining about it for seven years and there were people complaining about it before me,” she said.

Parents are furious Gillieston Public School has so many demountables on what could otherwise be playground space.

Mum Samantha Blacklaws said her son Zac, 5, told her the smell from the toilets peaked in summer.

“When you walk in the school gates it is the first thing you can smell,” she said.

At the inquiry on Wednesday, numerous parents including Medowie Public school mum Marnie Coates said despite high population growth in her suburb of young families, the government had not built a high school. The Department of Education purchased land in the area to build one in 1983 but instead 1000 children are bussed out on school days to schools in Raymond Terrace.

“I can only presume it is cheaper for them to stick a few more classrooms onto that school (Raymond Terrace) than it is to properly plan the infrastructure that’s needed,” she said.

In Sydney’s west, Marsden Park Public School parent Libby Clarke told the inquiry she did not understand why schools were not planned for thousands of young families in suburbs like hers in Western Sydney.

Marsden Park Public School.

“What astounds me, the government knows how many lots are coming. The master planning is done years before the first lot is sold,” she said.

She said the site for a secondary high school at Marsden Park would be built some time in the future but in the meantime her children would have to travel an hour and 20 minutes to the nearest public high school. Families were instead going to Catholic and private schools in the area.

“There are more children in the Marsden Park postcode, there are more children in non-government schools than government schools,” she said.

“A lot of young families that move to these areas, some people don‘t have a lot of money to send their kids to the non-government schools.”

“The fact that (the government) can‘t see the need for (a high school) is just very, very frustrating.”

The government has been contacted for comment.