Metro schools to benefit from stimulus projects
Release date: 30 March 2021
More than 190 schools will receive priority upgrades, including improvements to playgrounds, sports courts and libraries, thanks to Tranche 2 of the $120 million NSW Government Metro Renewal Program.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell visited Homebush Boys High School today to announce the projects that will receive funding.
Homebush Boys High School will receive a $2 million upgrade to convert an existing building into a new library with a "STEM" Room and seminar rooms with student study areas. The school will also receive upgrades to its admin area, staff lounge and interview rooms.
Ms Berejiklian said the NSW Government is committed to ensuring students across NSW have access to quality school facilities.
“Hundreds of schools across Sydney have been given the green light to their projects and will go out to tender immediately,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Fires, COVID-19 and floods have had a huge impact on people across NSW, including our school communities who saw their school year disrupted and campuses impacted. This funding will provide a boost, not only to local school infrastructure projects and the economy but also to the morale of school communities.”
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the program is driven by what school communities want.
“I’m delighted to see 220 metro projects in this next tranche of the program, all put forward by schools as priorities,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Overall, we will see over $76 million invested in metro school infrastructure in this second tranche of the program.”
In November 2020 the NSW Government announced the $240 million Metro and Regional Renewal Program. To date, over 1,300 have been approved (over 790 and 590 in tranche one and tranche two respectively) across over 1,200 schools.
The programs will support over 2,600 jobs across regional and metro NSW, and wherever possible, schools will use local contractors and suppliers ensuring the positive impacts of this stimulus are felt as far and wide as possible.
The projects are identified by school communities and co-funded by the school and the NSW Government.
The NSW Government is investing $7 billion over the next four years, continuing its program to deliver more than 200 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This is the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of NSW.
