Esperance Senior High School has not had any major upgrades in more than 60 years. Photo: supplied.
Member for Roe Peter Rundle has called for a complete redevelopment of Esperance Senior High School (ESHS) after a report revealed it has the highest number of school building defects in WA.
Holes in the roof, leaks, crumbling concrete, rust, asbestos, and a performing arts stage held together by duct tape are among the 121 ESHS maintenance issues, identified as part of the Education Departments “building condition assessment”.
“Staff, students and parents have been putting up with outdated and unsafe facilities for years,” Mr Rundle said.
“The standard of facilities is just not fit for a modern learning environment.”
ESHS P&C president Michelle Handley said it came as no surprise that the school topped the defects list.
She said ESHS was built in the 1960s to cater for 400 students but now educates around 800 each year, yet the school had not received any funding for significant redevelopment since it first opened.
Ms Handley said the problems now stemmed beyond just maintenance.
“What we need is the North Wing and the South Wing bulldozed and rebuilt and then we need the school campus to be integrated,” she said.
“We’ve got bits and pieces but we need that to be fluid and a well-integrated environment that supports modern day learning.”
She said the WA Government developed a maintenance “master plan” for redevelopment at the school back in 2000.
In 2024, as part of the governments $1.6 billion funding towards school infrastructure, it invested $650,000 into a second “master plan” for future upgrades at ESHS.
At the same time, the government also committed $650,000 to Como Secondary College in Perth, for future infrastructure plans.
Earlier this year, the metropolitan school was granted $30 million from the government.
“It leads me to question: how is the state government making their infrastructure investment decisions?” Ms Handley said.
“How come Esperance started a master planning process at the same time but we got nothing?
“I’m not saying I’m taking away from other schools in the state that are getting investment because all kids in the community deserve that — my point is, when on earth is it going to be Esperance’s turn?
“Does the roof have to fall in on someone? What has to happen?
“I had great hope when the government invested in the master planning process, that they were signalling ‘we see you, we hear you and this community matters so we’re not going to play politics with it’.”
Shadow Education Minister Liam Staltari said many of the schools that recorded a high number of defects were in regional WA.
“This report is a long overdue wake-up call,” he said.
“No one should have to work and learn in these conditions and the Government needs to sit up and listen.”
Ms Handley said she believed the problem for Esperance was two-fold.
“We are in an electorate where it is not politically interesting, it makes sense because there’s not a lot of political imperatives to spend a lot of money here,” she said.
“The second thing is, because our community is so amazing, our kids are extraordinary and the teachers at the high school are a cut above, our educational outcomes across all learning pathways are really good.
“The school in educational outcomes is kicking goals and I think that is why we don’t make it to the money list.
“The kids are getting an awesome education from being raised and educated in Esperance but the thing is they are doing it in spite of adequate infrastructure and it’s not fair.”
After the Education Department’s report was released on Tuesday, the WA Government committed $11.3 million towards “priority maintenance items” at public schools across WA.
Mr Rundle said Education minister Sabine Winton did not answer whether any of the $11.3 million would be committed to the Esperance school.
“When I asked the Minister for an update on this much needed upgrade, the Minister was unable to confirm a timeline or a budget for any future works at ESHS,” Mr Rundle said.
“It’s clearly not a priority for the Cook Labor Government.”
The Esperance Weekender contacted Education Minister Sabine Winton for comment but had not received a response at the time of print.
