The Ponds High School to receive permanent classrooms, thanks to Labor

Labor has promised to replace 1000 ageing demountables with airconditioned classrooms at schools including The Ponds High School.

NSW Labor leader Michael Daley, Riverstone state Labor candidate Annemarie Christie and opposition education spokesman Jihad Dib outside The Ponds High School. Picture: Justin Lloyd

• John Palmer Public School upgrade
• Riverstone High School’s $21m upgrade

Labor has pledged $1.4 billion to replace 1000 ageing demountables with airconditioned classrooms at schools including The Ponds High School.

NSW Opposition leader Michael Daley visited The Ponds High School — where there are 24 demountable classrooms — on Sunday to make the announcement.

The Riverstone electorate has almost 200 demountables — the highest of anywhere in the state.

Riverstone Labor candidate Annemarie Christie, Michael Daley and Jihad Dib with children from The Ponds.

The Ponds High School is already over capacity by 300 students with more than 1400 students, despite being four years old.

Mr Daley said the promise was the largest investment in schools by any state government.

The Ponds High School is in the Riverstone electorate, which has the highest number of temporary classrooms in NSW.

“Labor will divert $500 million away from the Liberals and Nationals’ $2.2 billion Sydney stadium splurge, to start the $1.4 billion worth of long overdue upgrades,’’ he said.

“Demountables are only supposed to be used temporarily but the Liberals have been piling them into schools to try to manage severe overcrowding.”

Jihad Dib, Michael Daley and Annemarie Christie say schools are massively overcrowded. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Riverstone state Labor candidate Annemarie Christie said 15-year-old Kellyville Ridge Public School now had more demountables than permanent classrooms, forcing them to play opposite the school to play.

“It’s simply not fair that our kids in the northwest can spend their entire school life without

seeing the inside of a permanent classroom,’’ Mrs Christie said.

The announcement came a month shy of the State Election. Picture: Justin Lloyd

“Our kids deserve the best opportunities to learn, just like the kids in the eastern suburbs.”

The Ponds High School P and C president Roland de Pree said The Ponds High School would have 30 demountables next year and 50 by 2022.

“I think this is a great initiative of Labor and was long overdue since the government has neglected education for the past eight years,’’ he said.

The Ponds High School has 24 demountables despite being just four years old.

“In the third year we were already full of capacity with a multitude of demountables.”

But Riverstone state Liberal MP Kevin Conolly slammed Labor and said it should be embarrassed about the “ lake fake promise”.

“What they are offering to do is to cut in half the program that the government has already announced,’’ he said.

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“For their part, Labor is promising to cut spending on new classrooms.”

Mr Conolly said the Liberal government already started a program to build 2000 classrooms across NSW in the next four years.

“This is a reminder that Labor is all talk, while it is the Liberals who get things done,’’ he said.