There’s a lot of argy bargy between politicians about how many demountable classrooms schools have, how old they are, and how many have been distributed across the state by either Labor or Liberal governments.
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But none of it helps the overcrowding at Rutherford Public School.
The school has 780 students and can only expect to grow as the western suburb continues to experience unprecedented growth.
Despite having 10 demountable classrooms and two modular designed rooms, the school has been forced to use the library and computer room as regular classrooms.
However this means those rooms can’t be used for their intended purpose.
There is little to no storage space in the existing demountables and the toilets are a long way from them, which can be dire for little ones in a hurry.
And to add to their woes, the school can no longer hold assemblies in the hall because it’s too small.
Instead they are forced to hold presentations at nearby Rutherford Technology High School, moving 780 students back and forth must be a logistical nightmare for the teachers.
The school’s P&C lobbied Maitland MP Robyn Parker back in May for more demountables.
Ms Parker passed on their concerns to Education Minister Adrian Piccoli.
He said there were no plans to replace or extend the hall, but about the classrooms he said “additional accommodation will be provided as required”.
Well Minister, it is required now.
Staff and parents of Rutherford Public School don’t care which government did what.
All they care about is creating a healthy and functioning learning environment for their students.
