Sunshine College’s redevelopment plans have been dealt a major blow.
A $5.5 million blow-out in asbestos removal from the school means previous plans may need to be redrawn.
Sunshine College school council member Vin Ryan said the community feared it would no longer get the school it was promised.
“We were going to have a gym, arts centre, a senior building and a year 9 building,” he
said. “With costs mounting, this won’t happen. If we’re lucky we’ll get a year 7-8 building, but it’s not what was promised.
“If you look at the school, the buildings are in a bad state – there’s no heating, which is a problem in winter.”
The school has been granted $28.5 million to upgrade its facilities and had planned to consolidate its four campuses into two.
But some construction has been deferred after asbestos was discovered at the school’s main campus in Lachlan Street.
The Victorian School Building Authority estimates the cost of the asbestos removal to be about $5.5 million, which wasn’t budgeted for in the initial plans.
Additional funding for any deferred works is subject to future budget allocation.
Education Minister James Merlino said it was a disappointing turn of events.
“There’s nothing more important than the health and safety of our kids and we are getting on with the job of ridding schools of this harmful product,” he said of the asbestos.
Mr Merlino said asbestos removal had been included in the budgeting process.
“But it’s still disappointing that there are higher than anticipated costs associated with removing this product from the school.”
The Victorian School Building Authority is working with the school and the builder to determine which buildings will be prioritised.
Building work priorities as well as educational and administrative requirements of the school will be considered when deciding which buildings will be deferred.
