Overcrowded school that bans running denied extra space by NSW Government
Updated
A Sydney school where running at recess is banned because of overcrowding has been told the State Government is scaling back a promised expansion, which means students will not get extra play space.
Artarmon Public School, on the lower-north shore, was allocated funding in last year's state budget to address its overcrowding issues.
In the past ten years the school has almost doubled in size to 1,200 students.
A master plan was drawn up and approved by the local council to provide 21 new classrooms, a new library and toilet block.
As part of the plan the school hall would also be moved and rebuilt providing much needed extra playground space.
"We actually have a no-running policy at recess and lunch and it's sort of ridiculous because it's too crowded," school captain Daniel Hwang said.
"Recess and lunch is the crucial time to socialise but if you lose that opportunity to be active it's taking a whole part of a student's childhood."
But now the State Government has indicated the hall rebuild will not be funded and it will stay as it is.
"A new hall was not part of the scope of the redevelopment works announced in 2015," a spokeswoman for the Education Minister said.
'Half-baked project'
President of the Parents and Citizens Association Karen Pearson said the group was "quite shocked" by the announcement.
"At no stage in the process was there any indication that we were only going to get a part of the project."
"It's really important that we get the whole plan for the school not just the classrooms.
"Moving the hall, we've got very limited flat ground in our school and it would allow for flat playground space."
"What we are seeing here is a half-baked project by the Government," the opposition education spokesman Jihad Dib said.
"They announced the full deal but now that it's actually come to deliver … they've led people up the garden path."
Student numbers to climb
The NSW State Government acknowledges it is facing an unprecedented level of student enrolments.
It is currently allocating funding for nearly 50 schools to be either built or redeveloped.
But student numbers are expected to increase by nearly 25 per cent by 2031.
"Particularly in Sydney where there are new apartment blocks going up in Sydney all the time," said Joan Lemaire from the Teachers Federation.
"We definitely need the Government to step in and begin a much bigger building program.
"We see that as a priority, maybe a priority bigger than building roads and railways."
The school funding shortfall to deal with population growth is estimated by the auditor general to be as much as $10 billion.
Topics: education, educational-resources, schools, primary-schools, public-schools, state-parliament, secondary-schools, artarmon-2064, nsw
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