By Luke Voogt
A stoush has erupted between federal and state MPs following claims of underfunding of Geelong schools.
Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson slammed the State Government’s “failure” to fund “urgent infrastructure needs” for schools in her electorate.
But Victorian Education Minister James Merlino labelled Ms Henderson’s attack “a bit rich” given her government had left schools “hundreds of millions of dollars worse off”.
Ms Henderson on Monday accused State Government of “ignoring” infrastructure needs at Bellbrae, Bellaire and Winchelsea primary schools.
Bellbrae Primary School needed between $6 million and $8 million for facilities including a new gym for its 500 students, she told parliament.
“Every school with more than 350 students in Victoria is meant to have its own gym, so why is Labor turning its back on Bellbrae and other schools and breaking its own rules?”
Highton’s Bellaire Primary School, which has more than 600 students, was so desperate for infrastructure it was using hallways to extend classroom spaces, Ms Henderson told parliament.
“Bellaire school president, Steve Knuckey, believes the school needs $10 million in infrastructure upgrades urgently, but none of this was in the recent state budget.”
State Government invested $374,000 to upgrade Winchelsea Primary School, but Ms Henderson said about $100,000 of that would go towards asbestos removal.
Federal funding to public schools in Corangamite would increase from $40.1 million in 2018 to $48.8 million in 2022 under the coalition, she added.
But the Labor State Government invested $1.05 million to upgrade Bellbrae Primary School, Mr Merlino said on Tuesday.
“It is a bit rich to hear Ms Henderson now talking about education funding when it was her government who chose not to fund the original Gonski Agreement, leaving schools hundreds of millions of dollars worse off.
“While her government has short-changed local schools, we’re continuing to invest in local schools including Bellbrae Primary School and Winchelsea Primary School.”
The State’s $1.25 billion investment in school infrastructure in its latest budget was the same as the previous Liberal State Government’s four budgets combined, Mr Merlino said.
“I find it encouraging that the Liberal Party are now taking an ‘interest’ in local schools given they neglected them and did not upgrade any of the schools mentioned in (Ms Henderson’s) speech.“
State Government would work through a “backlog“ of infrastructure needs following “four years of cuts and neglect by the former Liberal Government“, he added.
