Frustration over slow pace of ‘fast-tracked’ Epping West Public School redevelopment
NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay has criticised the state government for not fast-tracking the upgrade of an overcrowded school in Sydney's north as a concerned parent claims the situation is dire.
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NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay has criticised the State Government for failing to deliver a promised fast-tracking of upgrades at an overcrowded school in Sydney's north.
Epping West Public School was put under the spotlight early last year when parents campaigned about the overcrowding, with the demountable-laden school oval leaving little room for kids to play.
One year on and parents told the Northern District Times the situation was still dire with no update on construction.
In February last year, Epping state Liberal MP Dominic Perrottet and Education Minister Rob Stokes committed to a school upgrade, but now the State’s Opposition leader claims the government has failed to keep its promise to ‘fast-track’ the build.
Then Education Minister Rob Stokes said the demountables classrooms would be “rapidly removed” from valuable playground space.
Joining him, Mr Perrottet said: “It is only because we manage the State's finances well that we can make significant investments like this in our schools delivering better facilities for thousands of students at schools in our fastest growing communities.”
On Wednesday, Ms McKay criticised Mr Perrottet for “misleading” the community.
She argued they would rightfully believe action on the school’s overcrowding was imminent.
“You’ve got a school that has no start-finish date, no budget and no one knows what’s going on,” Ms McKay said outside the school yesterday morning.
“We want the Treasurer to tell us the start date of work on the school. And I don’t mean outward planning because that should have been done.
“This is a fast-growing area and we think parents deserve to know when it starts and when it will be finished.”
Mr Perrottet hit back saying Ms McKay’s comments were part of a “political stunt.”
He confirmed the upgrade at Epping West Public School was in the planning stages with construction expected to start next year.
“Epping West is part of the NSW Government’s $6.7 billion historic investment over four years to deliver more than 190 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW,” he said.
Mr Perrottet said a total of 42 new classrooms at schools in the same pocket, Carlingford Public School and Epping Public School, have already been delivered ahead of Term 1 this year.
But Ms McKay claimed thirty-odd demountables on the current school grounds was “a lot.”
“That means children are learning in classrooms that aren’t permanent classrooms.
“The issue with demountables is they take up playground space and the school campus itself.”
The amount of students at the school has ballooned in the last 10 years from 650 to almost 1300 with about half the school’s oval covered with demountables.
While there were previously about 30 demountables, it is understood an additional one was installed during the summer holidays.
A school source, who asked not to be named, said she understood the upgrade was to be completed in 2023 which she argued was too far away.
The mother, whose children attend the school, said the student population has almost doubled in the last 10 years and claims there’s been no upgrade to keep up with the demand.
“I don’t think it’s (the upgrade) is at risk of not being honoured but it’s the time frame that is a concern. We need it,” she told The Northern District Times.
“We’ve been crying about it for years. The school is literally double what it’s been built for.
“We were promised last year a quick upgrade to be built off site and then shipped in to the school. But we’ve not been given any indication and been told that it would take four years.”
The Epping mother said a lack of playground space was her main concern yet she was also worried about toilets in the demountables.
“They have some demountables toilets because they didn’t have enough toilet facilities and they’re gross - half the time they don’t work,” she claimed.
The school’s P&C president Ben Yee confirmed meetings have taken place and the upgrade was in the planning stage.
While he said everything is going as planned “obviously we would like to see it go faster”.
Mr Yee, who has a child at the school, said one of the “biggest challenges” was that the upgrade will happen on a live site.
“I know that if we have to work on a site that is live it makes things much more difficult,” he said.
“We will still have students going to school there while all this is going on so they have to manage it correctly.
“That’s one of the apprehensions on where to put the building.”
On a tentative timeline, Mr Yee said designs and an approved business case should be done followed by tendering by the end of this year.
He said a contractor should then be appointed in 2020 and it was “realistic” for the new facilities to be opened from 2023.
When asked if more demountables were likely to be installed during construction he said “yes.”
“There will definitely be more demountables put in especially when we start knocking down classrooms.
“It’s a logical evolution,” Mr Yee said.
Epping Ward Councillor Donna Davis said the overcrowding was a “struggle” for the students.
“They have basically lost their sports field because of the demountables,” Cr Davis said.
“It’s been a significant period of time since the election and we haven’t seen any actions.
“How long do people have to wait?”
Last year’s plans suggested the demountable classrooms would be replaced by multi-storey modern buildings offering students flexible learning environments.
It was previously announced the buildings were to be constructed off-site and then delivered into the school to minimise disruption for the students.