P and C “gobsmacked” by temporary school site

BY LUCAS BAIRD

Parents are kicking up a storm over issues with the temporary location of the Ultimo School.

After breaking a promise to rebuild the school at a site on the corner of Fig and Wattle St, the Department of Education (DoE) has decided to rebuild on its current site and temporarily relocate students to a site at Wentworth Park.

However, parents are angered by the lack of information being provided by the State Government and concessions they will need to make at the temporary location.

“Everything seems to be so secretive, I’m gobsmacked,” said Parents and Community president, Michelle Lawrence.

“It is not actually a consultation process, because we have been against it for four years yet they continue to roll forward with their plans,” she said.

One among several issues is the contaminated soil at Wentworth Park. The DoE informed parents a month ago that lead had been found in the soil. A problem which had already led to the abandonment of the old site on the corner of Fig and Wattle St.

The parents have requested twice that full soil reports of Wentworth Park be made available to them, but so far nothing has come of it.

Ms Lawrence views the behaviour of the “stubborn” Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, as unnacceptable. He has not consulted with the parents since July of last year and has ignored several requests from council to renegotiate the sale of the former site.

NSW Labor have taken the side of the parents in this matter, with Opposition Leader, Luke Foley, calling on the government to provide “peace of mind” to the parents.

“Recklessly throwing out comments about lead in the soil and then failing to provide any clarity or closure to concerned parents is inexcusable,” he said.

“Parents have a right to see this report and demand transparency from the Government. If it was just a stupid remark then the Government should have no problem sharing the reports.”

A further concern of the parents is the lack of space at the new facility, which they claim is 27 per cent smaller and will not accommodate the after school care programme.

But a spokesperson for the DoE told City Hub that they are, “satisfied that the temporary school will adequately accommodate students and staff.”

Security for the school is also an issue for the parents, but the Department spokesperson said that the entire area would be fenced off and necessary supervision will be provided.

The local Ultimo community has made clear that they will continue to pressure the Government to keep their old promise and rebuild the school at the Wattle and Fig St site.

However, this looks unlikely to happen as the Minister is set on redeveloping the Ultimo School on its current location.

A spokesperson for the Minister told City Hub that the NSW government has not broken any promises by reneging on the initial commitment to rebuild the at the Wattle St depot, contrary to the parents’ beliefs.

“The Department’s decision not to proceed with the purchase and development of the Wattle, Jones and Fig Street site was based on concerns about the significant contamination of the site and the very high remediation costs. Due to these concerns, this decision will not change,” they said.

“The NSW Government will honour its commitment to build a new school for the Ultimo/Pyrmont community by redeveloping Ultimo Public School on its existing site.”

The students are scheduled to move into the Wentworth Park site in May, 2017.