Some schools in the region will need nearly a quarter of a century to repair their entire maintenance backlogs at current state government funding levels.
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The public schools in the former Wellington Shire LGA have a combined $1,044,732 maintenance backlog.
Wellington Public School has a repair total of nearly half of this total amount at $479,862.
It would take a total of 13 years to complete the public school’s repair catalogue.
Nearly a quarter of a century would be required to fix all of the maintenance issues at Euchareena and Mumbil Public schools at their current funding levels.
... our kids can't wait 20 years.
- Opposition education spokesman Jihad Dib
Euchareena Public School faces the region’s longest wait - 23 years - to catch up on its backlog, based on projections from the data.
The school – located one hour from Wellington – is waiting on $104,934 of maintenance, but was allocated just $4571 this year.
Down the road, Mumbil Public School has a $112,823 maintenance backlog but this year is to receive $5198.
Mumbil sits just behind Euchareena, needing 22 years to catch up on its repairs.
Last year's state budget injected $330 million over two years to address the backlog, the highest sum committed to maintenance in more than 20 years.
Despite this, across NSW outstanding maintenance tallies $775 million.
Labor has accused the government of “appalling failure” in neglecting NSW’s public schools
Opposition education spokesman Jihad Dib, a former state high school principal, said, "our kids can't wait 20 years".
He called on the new education minister Rob Stokes to immediately fix the backlog as local children were forced to return to dilapidated classrooms.
The department defended its efforts, saying the maintenance bill should be seen in the context of its $25 billion asset base – over 2200 schools across the state.
A spokesman said: "The Department of Education has a well-defined maintenance strategy.”
“All statutory and preventive maintenance is completed as a first priority to ensure our schools are safe and compliant," he said.
"In a portfolio of properties the size of the department's it is not feasible to have no outstanding maintenance work."
