Funding deferred on 29 government school upgrades, forcing them to spend $152m a year on relocatable classrooms

Many Victorian government schools are at crisis point with much-needed upgrades years behind schedule and more delays expected.

Documents show some projects cost more than three times the funds originally allocated. Picture: Brandan McGlynn

School capital works have blown out by nearly $200m, with some projects costing more than three times the funds originally allocated, state documents reveal.

Construction cost blowouts and extra works – often funded by schools themselves – have led to $197m more being spent on upgrades to toilets, classrooms, playgrounds, ovals, fences and roofs this financial year.

The extra funds given to more than 50 schools are for works promised up to four years ago, with more delays foreshadowed.

Funding has also been deferred on 29 government school upgrades, forcing them into spending $152m a year on relocatable classrooms.

Lucas and Zara in front of ongoing school refurbishment work at Mildura West Primary School. Picture: Brandan McGlynn

It comes as the state of government schools needing upgrades is reaching crisis point.

At Camelot Rise Primary School in Glen Waverley, local member, Liberal MP Richard Welch, said an airconditioning unit fell through a ceiling last year, heaters and air conditioners are too loud to use and toilets are “falling into disrepair”.

“The oval is reminiscent of the Somme, it is missing a goalpost and it is of too poor quality to even host the school carnival,” Mr Welch said recently in state parliament.

The school has missed out on much-needed funding.

Croydon’s Melba College, which is riddled with asbestos, was promised money for upgrades yet none was allocated in the latest state budget.

Sunshine North Campus urgently needs repairs.

San Remo Primary School also had a previously funded $5.3m upgrade, which wasn’t allocated in this year’s state budget despite a petition from parents with 400 signatures.

Other schools given more money, but longer completion timeframes, include Alamanda K-9 College in Point Cook.

The school had capital approved in 2021-22 for $6.95m for an upgrade due to be completed in mid 2024.

The total estimated investment has now ballooned to $19m, with $12m of additional funds pledged, including $7m from the school itself.

Other schools needing more money include Vermont Secondary College, which had a $9.5m upgrade funded in 2020-21 but has received an additional $5.3m, bringing the total spend to $14.8m.

Similarly, an upgrade a Wantirna College has gone from costing $11.1m in 2022-23 to $15.1m just 12 months later.

Primary schools are also now needing more money for upgrades, including Taylors Lakes Primary School which was promised $7.5m but now needs $9.7m.

A number of special school upgrades have also increased markedly in cost. These include one at Yarra Ranges Special School in Mt Evelyn, which will cost $23m rather than the $19m allocated three years ago.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jess Wilson said Labor’s “mismanagement of school capital projects are fuelling Victoria’s record debt and denying students the world-class education they deserve”.

A government spokesperson said: “We have invested $16.9bn over the past 10 years to build new schools and deliver more than 2200 school upgrades – supporting more than 26,000 jobs in construction and associated industries. We are getting on with the job of building new schools as we gear up to open 100 new schools by 2026.”