Thousands of public schools are being revamped and upgraded across the State as part of the NSW Government’s $450 million COVID-19 Recovery Plan to deliver school projects.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell today visited Carlingford High School to announce which schools will benefit from the first round of the $157.8 million LED Lighting Project, part of the COVID-19 Recovery Plan.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the program was part of a $450 million package of works that will deliver better classrooms and school facilities for students while also supporting more than 3,500 jobs right across NSW.
“We are investing record amounts in education and these important upgrades will deliver modern facilities for schools with energy efficient lights in classrooms, libraries, halls and administration areas that will have great outcomes for our schools,” Mr Perrottet said.
“The LED lighting program will also benefit the environment with schools saving on energy costs every year and importantly as we continue to recover from the pandemic will help stimulate local economies, supporting hundreds of jobs in towns throughout the State.”
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said over the next two years LED lighting will be installed in up to 1,000 NSW public schools reducing energy costs for schools and improving the indoor learning environment for students, with almost 300 schools confirmed for delivery today.
“Schools are at the heart of our communities and this package of works is delivering improvements to the learning facilities for students whilst providing jobs for local trades,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Wherever possible, we’re engaging local contractors and suppliers to ensure that the positive impact of this stimulus is felt through the regions building a safer and stronger NSW.”
“This program is part of the NSW Government’s school focused COVID stimulus, delivering benefits for the economy, environment and students.”
Last year the NSW Government announced an education infrastructure package as part of the NSW Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan to deliver high-quality school infrastructure across the state while also support jobs. The package included:
- $240 million Regional and Metropolitan Renewal Programs
- $60 million Regional Roof Replacement Program
- $157.8 million LED Lighting Upgrade Program.
The Regional and Metropolitan Renewal Programs is delivering school improvement projects including playgrounds, COLAs, science labs and canteens. The programs are co-funded with school communities and more than 1,300 projects have already been announced representing an injection of $286 million right across NSW so far.
The Regional Roof Replacement Program includes funding to repair and replace roofs at up to 700 high priority regional schools.
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.