By Alexandra Smith
The relocation of the overcrowded Ultimo Public School may be delayed, despite being funded in the budget, because negotiations with the City of Sydney to buy one of its sites have stalled.
Moving the inner-city school was one of 14 major school projects funded in the budget. But the Department of Education says plans to move it to council-owned land on Wattle Street, Ultimo, cannot go ahead until the council and the government agree on the sale price.
Parents and the department have backed building the larger school for 1000 students and space for childcare and after school hours care facilities but a department spokesman says, despite several months of negotiations, remediating the contaminated site remains a sticking point.
A spokeswoman for the City of Sydney said the council received the first offer for the Wattle Street site from the department on Friday.
"The city is reviewing the offer and seeking an outcome that benefits ratepayers and the community," she said.
Funding was also set aside for the long-planned comprehensive high school in Crows Nest on the old Bradfield TAFE site and a school for students with special needs in Glenmore Park.
Overall, the government will spend $14.4 billion on education, training and early education, a $612 million increase on last year’s investment.
It will spend $10.7 billion on public schools and funding to independent schools will rise 4 per cent to $1.04 billion.
The budget includes $230 million for public, private and Catholic schools as part of the Gonski funding model.
Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the government remained committed to the needs-based model.
“Importantly, this budget delivers on NSW's commitment to fully fund its $1.76 billion commitment under Gonski," Mr Piccoli said.
"Where the commonwealth government refused to fund its share of the agreement beyond 2017, NSW has kept faith with school communities around the state by allocating additional funds across the forward estimates."
Several schools, including Hunter Sports High School and Point Clare and Wilton public schools, will get extensive redevelopment.
Mr Piccoli said the budget included $2.3 billion for vocational education, including $1.86 billion for TAFE.
Greens MP John Kaye said spending on private schools would rise by 4 per cent while secondary public schools would only get a 3.5 per cent rise.
"The NSW government subsidies to independent and Catholic schools continue to grow much faster than inflation while public schools are facing the reality of a truncated Gonski model," Dr Kaye said.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich said $5.4 million would be spent on upgrading Bourke Street Public School and relocating Ultimo Public School.
“The students in the larger Ultimo Public School also need a high school, and I’ll be working with the community towards this outcome," he said.