Local Member for Maitland, Jenny Aitchison is calling on the new education minister to immediately fix the school maintenance backlog as local children are forced to return to dilapidated classrooms.

Documents obtained by the Labor Opposition have revealed the school maintenance backlog in NSW is already over $775 million.

In the electorate of Maitland there are 21 schools with outstanding maintenance requests.

The data shows that in the Maitland electorate;

• There are 4 schools with an individual maintenance backlog in excess of $1 million;

• 10 schools have a backlog in excess of $500,000;

• There are no schools with a backlog bill of less than $10,000;

Everything from toilet block upgrades, carpet replacements, fixing damaged roofs, to replacing windows has been put on hold.

The extent of the school maintenance backlog has uncovered an appalling failure by the Liberal-National Government to deliver high quality classrooms and education facilities in NSW.

Hopefully the new minister will have a plan to bring our overcrowded schools up to standard.

Quotes attributable to Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison

“If the new minister wants to make a name for himself, he can start right away and commit to fixing our local schools."

“Our children deserve the best possible education, and that means providing the best possible learning environment."

“Under the Liberal-National Government schools in our community have been allowed to wither away into a state of dilapidation.”

“Children in Maitland schools are being forced to learn in second rate environments because the Liberal-National Government has failed to address the growing maintenance backlog."