Fight to upgrade Balgowlah Boys campus as pupils working in ‘substandard conditions’
With just a handful of working toilets available to more than 1000 pupils, Warringah MP Zali Steggall says students at one northern beaches high school are working in substandard conditions.
Manly
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Parents at a northern beaches high school say their children are working in unacceptable conditions.
And pupils have reported that at times there are just four working toilet cubicles for the 1000-plus students at the campus.
It comes as shocking photographs obtained by the Manly Daily paint a bleak picture of students’ day-to-day life.
A recent tour of the school has led Warringah MP Zali Steggall to back a Balgowlah Boys high school P and C push to have the “substandard” buildings and grounds upgraded.
Pupils at the school told the Manly Daily that sometimes there are just four working toilet cubicles available, while another toilet block is being refurbished.
One student said kids were risking going on a report card by sneaking out of school and using the toilets at the BP Garage 100 metres away or the public toilets across the road at the oval.
Complaints have also been made about the state of the bubblers, which overflow.
David Hope, president of the Northern Sydney District Council P and C Association, agreed the maintenance and general appearance of Balgowlah Boys was one of the worst in the state.
“It’s a horrible environment,” he said. “It’s so rundown.”
Ms Steggall toured the school and said she was “shocked”.
“They are being told their (pupil) numbers don’t justify an upgrade,” Ms Steggall said.
She also questioned why there were no Portaloos available during upgrade works.
It is believed there are a couple of other toilet cubicles on site, but they are not always open.
The school is due to have 18 classrooms out of more than 40 renovated and is undergoing $3m of work to install access for a disabled pupil who is due to start next year.
But basic facilities are in a woeful condition, according to parents.
P and C president Mark Sablatnig said the school environment from the buildings to the grounds were not up to an acceptable standard.
“We don’t want a lap pool or a wellness centre, we just want the facilities the boys deserve,” he said.
“We want a total upgrade of buildings and grounds after years of chronic underfunding.”
Anita Tymkiw, from the school’s P and C committee, said despite the poor conditions, the school was excelling academically which meant it had seen a surge in the number of enrolments.
She said next year they expected pupil numbers to reach 1200.
“Academically the school is a shining light,” Ms Tymkiw said.
“They are successful despite the conditions.”
Mr Hope said the department’s projections over future pupil numbers at Balgowlah — which it says is due to peak in 2020 — may be unreliable, as they have been shown to be wrong in the past.
He called for full details of the projections for student numbers and catchment boundaries to be made available to the school community for transparency.
However, Mr Hope praised the State Government’s investment in local public schools on the northern beaches and across NSW including state-of-the-art facilities at Manly Vale, Harbord and Curl Curl.
He said he was hopeful that plans being developed now will rectify the situation at Balgowlah Boys.
Ms Steggall said she feared because the school was performing so well it wasn’t seen as a “problem school” and therefore was not getting any investment.
She also took a potshot at the former state and federal members Premier Mike Baird and ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott for allowing the school to fall into such disrepair on their watch.
Manly state MP James Griffin said he would continue to push for more funding for upgrades and said there was “an exciting future schedule of infrastructure works” for schools on the beaches including Balgowlah Boys.
“Bally Boys is a public school success story that I am immensely proud of and I will continue to work side-by-side with the School Principal and P and C executive to ensure the school buildings reflect the stellar academic success of Balgowlah Boys,” Mr Griffin said.
“Every single classroom at Balgowlah Boys now has airconditioning making the school ready for summer and we are about to commence a total refurbishment of 18 classroom providing new carpets, walls, curtains, windows, whiteboards and where needed, furniture.
“One toilet block has been completely refurbished and is almost complete. Work on the second block will commence shortly.”
A recent Daily Telegraph investigation found that in 2017 Balgowlah Boys received a total of $972,099 in fees, charges and parent contributions, amounting to $1,258 per student, compared with Pittwater House School which received $15.5m in total and $19,127 per student.