A new school safety taskforce will get $1.1 million in funding as the Education Directorate focuses on improving safety and capacity across ACT public schools.
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The Safe@Schools taskforce will conduct a system-wide safety review and provide resources for training, communication and project management.
The taskforce, which was sparked by a series of interventions by WorkSafe ACT, will get $1.141 million in 2022-23 but does not have ongoing funding.
The directorate will plough ahead with an ambitious building schedule as the number of public school enrolments continue to grow, especially in Gungahlin, the inner north and greenfield suburbs.
Planning for a new college in Gungahlin, set to be built near the Gold Creek School in Nicholls, will have $1 million in funding this financial year, but the budget does not include funding or a timeline for construction.
The Kenny High School, worth $89.9 million, was meant to be ready by February 2023 but rain has led to the completion date blowing out to December 2023.
Design work at Narrabundah College and Garran Primary School modernisation projects will be completed by the end of this year with construction to be finished in December 2024.
MORE BUDGET NEWS:
A $40 million expansion of Majura Primary School was announced before the budget was released. This school is set to be increased by 300 places by the end of 2025 to keep in line with enrolment growth predictions in the inner north.
An all-female management team will be responsible for the construction of the $62.4 million Strathnairn school by December 2024. An 800-place primary school and 130-place early learning centre at Whitlam has been allocated $76.75 million, but this does not include the cost of land acquisition of about $27 million.
The Margaret Hendry School will be expanded and a high school will be built next to it by December 2023.
A further $8.5 million will go towards three new demountable classrooms and reusing eight existing units in other schools.
By the end of this year, the directorate will spend $3.568 million on improving ventilation, while $17.3 million will be spent on expanding cleaning services in public schools.
The budget includes $6.9 million over four years to buy laptops for all teachers, casual teachers and admin staff in public schools.
The changes enacted by recent amendments to the Education Act will be supported by $2.103 million over four years.
This will got towards a student movement register to help identify vulnerable children, a regulatory framework for non-government schools and setting up a registration standards advisory board.
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