As part of the new Liberals & Nationals NSW Government, the Member for Davidson, Jonathan O'Dea has moved quickly to again highlight the chronic accommodation shortage at Killara High School.
In its first week of parliamentary sittings, Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli has responded to the latest call by Mr O'Dea for the accommodation issue to be promptly addressed.
"I highlighted the urgent need for a major onsite capital works program to deliver desperately needed new classrooms and associated facilities," Mr O'Dea said.
"We have a school built for 1,080 students now struggling under the weight of numbers as it endeavours to manage almost 1,500 students. The main response of the previous inept Labor Government was to truck in demountables ... so that today 20 demountables cover much of the schoolyard and school oval," he told Parliament.
"In response, the Education Minister undertook to meet with me, together with representatives from the Department of Education and Killara High School to discuss the issue," Mr O'Dea said.
"I am delighted to receive this promising response from Minister Piccoli, especially given the previous Labor Minister's disinterest. The Minister is also welcome to visit the school and see the desperate situation first hand," he said.
"In my speech I also called for further consideration to be given to establishing a campus for senior years at the UTS Lindfield site.
The Member for Davidson told Parliament, "At the centre of this issue is the welfare of students who should not be disadvantaged through second-grade classroom accommodation and limited facilities. I sincerely hope that the new Liberal-Nationals Government, of which I am proudly part, will prioritise the desperately needed building program as part of its capital allocation in the education portfolio budget, so that students at Killara High School can enjoy facilities most reasonably expected from any State high school."
"I thank the Education Minister for his prompt response to my calls and look forward to working with all stakeholders to see the accommodation issue at Killara High School addressed appropriately and as quickly as possible," Mr O'Dea concluded.
