$420m to fix decaying schools

Sunbury College principal Stephen Smith inside one of the school's rundown science rooms. Picture: Ian Currie Source: Herald Sun

MORE than half of Victoria's 1500 state schools have at least one building that fails to meet maintenance standards.

And 505 schools or about a third have at least one building at the point of "imminent failure" or which has already failed.

It comes as an Auditor-General's report this morning found the Education Department wasn't managing school infrastructure efficiently and cost-effectively

An Education Department audit - the first since 2006 - reveals a whopping $420 million is needed to fix our decaying schools.

Leaky roofs, cracked walls and rusting gutters are common problems. The Government will today announce a $51.5 million boost for the more than 200 schools in most need of repair.

Some of the facilities in the science rooms at Sunbury College can't even be used. Picture: Ian Currie

But Education Minister Martin Dixon said it was only a "first step" in tackling the huge backlog.

The audit of 1539 state primary and secondary schools assessed 27,000 buildings against Education Department benchmarks.

One in four buildings was below the appropriate standard and in need of extra maintenance money.

But none posed a safety risk to students.

Cracks, as pictured here in the wall at Sunbury College, are among the problems that need to be fixed. Picture: Ian Currie

About two-thirds of buildings were in good or excellent condition.

Sunbury College is among schools battling ageing buildings.

Principal Stephen Smith said the floor of its science wing was so uneven wheel chocks were placed under chemical-laden trolleys to stop them rolling, stumps were rotten, and warped windows never opened because there was no hope of getting them shut.

The administration area has cracked walls and huge gaps above the doors.

Leaky roofs and rusting gutters are common problems revealed in the audit. Picture: Ian Currie

"There are all those sort of issues which you just can't patch with the limited funds you are given," Mr Smith said.

Victorian Principals Association president Gabrielle Leigh said schools understood not all work could be completed immediately but needed clarity on where they were in the funding queue.

"Our schools are very much in need of maintenance - we haven't had an overall maintenance program for many years," she said. "A lot of the existing buildings are in dire need."

Mr Dixon blamed the former Labor government for failing to keep school buildings up to scratch.

"The audit revealed real problems in how capital and maintenance works were planned,'' Mr Dixon said.

"The government is committed to fixing Victoria's school capital and maintenance program to make sure every school gets the most out of every dollar invested and we are working to develop that better model now.

"The way we manage our school buildings has to change to make sure every student benefits from a 21st century learning environment."

The Opposition has previously accused the government of ripping $555 million from public education.

The audit's findings will be used to help prioritise future maintenance and capital works spending.

All schools will receive a maintenance report by Term 2 to help them address problems identified.

'Historical underfunding of maintenance'

An Victorian Auditor-General's Report, Implementation of School Infrastructure Programs, has been released today.

It noted 7.5 per cent or 2042 school buildings were rated as "poor" or "worn" in the audit, meaning they are at the point of failure or have already failed.

Almost a quarter of the $420 million maintenance spending required is in the Eastern Metropolitan region despite schools in this area receiving $770 million under the Victorian Schools Plan and Building the Education Revolution initiatives.

Barwon South Western has the greatest investment requirements on a per-school basis, with each needing an average $725,076.

The auditor general found excess space at Victorian schools has more than doubled due to recent building programs.

The building portfolio is now 38 per cent surplus to requirements, up from 15 per cent.

In Barwon South Western the oversupply is a whopping 55 per cent.

The report found less than a third of schools received the funding they needed to maintain buildings and were not effectively held to account for money spent.

Schools had developed a "reactive approach" to maintenance due to the lack of money, only addressing urgent issues and deferring less pressing and preventative work.

"This is likely to compound defects, leading to a need for more costly maintenance interventions in the future," the report noted.

Greater scrutiny of schools and a long-term strategy to keep buildings up to grade are recommended.

"The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) is not managing school infrastructure efficiently and cost-effectively," the report noted.

"Historical underfunding of maintenance, a lack of life cycle planning and a lack of accountability for schools expenditure of maintenance funds, are compromising the effective management of school buildings.

"DEECD is aware of the need to enhance asset management practices, but has not yet taken effective action."

The department had been warned about the problem since 2008, the auditor-general found.

It is now developing a "comprehensive" asset management strategy which should be completed by the middle of this year.

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