‘Failing’: Extra classroom arriving every two months but no new Mt Barker school
In the second instalment of a four-part series on development in Mount Barker, InDaily reveals the State Government was advised to build a new school in the area more than a decade ago. So far, not a single brick has been laid despite an extra “classroom” of kids arriving every two months.
A “sensitive” cabinet paper from 2013, obtained by InDaily via a Freedom of Information request, reveals the state government received recommendations about building new schools in areas earmarked for development in the 30 Plan for Greater Adelaide, but has never acted on much of the advice.
This is despite InDaily being told the region is bucking the state and national trend with more than half of local parents sending their kids to private schools as the government was “failing to keep pace with our growth”.
“This is almost a complete reversal of the State and National trend, and a direct result of the state failing to keep pace with our growth,” said Madeleine Walker, who is Mount Barker District Council’s manager of strategic planning.
Walker said that every two months, the equivalent of a new classroom of children arrives in Mount Barker.
“Since the 2010 rezoning, council has repeatedly called on the Department for Education to proactively plan new public education infrastructure,” she said
“While there has been some capital investment in existing government schools, it has been nowhere near the scale of the private sector, which is building new facilities, expanding campuses, and attracting most of our families.”
Mount Barker was first identified as an area of growth in The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, which called for the construction of 124,000 dwellings on a net land of 10,650 hectares in areas around South Australia, with “40-60 per cent of total land mass to be developed for non-residential purposes”.
The cabinet paper, tabled by former Education and Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine in April 2013, recommended that “[i]f the predicted population growth as identified in the demographic analysis is achieved within the next 15 years, government will need to plan for the expansion and construction of new facilities in the outer Southern areas of Adelaide, Mt Barker and Murray Bridge”.
In particular, around South Australia, the paper says the government will need to plan and budget for the expansion of one birth to reception facility, five birth to Year 7 schools, five birth to Year 7 schools, two birth to Year 12 schools, and the construction of six new birth to reception facilities, three birth to Year 7 schools and one birth to Year 12 school with a total cost of $280 million.
You might like
In Mount Barker and surrounds, it recommended the construction of a “[n]ew R-12 facility in Mount Barker South as part of the first stage of new growth and run as a multi-campus ‘Mount Barker College’ in tandem with the existing Mount Barker High School”, with the school expected to be fully functional by 2018.
It also called for the creation of three early learning centres, the potential expansion of Nairne Child Parent Centre, the expansion of Nairne and Mount Barker Primary schools, the expansion or relocation of Mount Barker South Primary School, and the development of a fourth and potentially a fifth primary school in Mount Barker.
The revelation comes as data compiled by Mount Barker District Council suggests that 65 per cent of parents in the council area chose to send their children to a private school instead of a public school.
Walker said Infrastructure SA’s Strategic Plan 2025 names Mount Barker as one of the top three areas with the largest projected enrolment increases by 2041.
“It specifically says land for schools must be identified and banked early as part of integrated planning, but this simply isn’t happening because the Department for Education doesn’t have the budget to do so,” she said.
“We already know a new high school will be needed. But without land banking and forward planning, the state is locking in a future crisis and forcing families into private schooling simply because government options don’t exist.”
The Malinauskas Labor government has committed to investing more than $218 million to build a new preschool and primary school in Mount Barker as well as a new high school in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, in the 2024-25 State Budget.
The state government also committed a further $38.1 million for “urgent” upgrades to schools around the state, including $4 million to Mount Barker High School.
InDaily understands there are internal concerns about old and outdated infrastructure at Mount Baker High School.
Liam Golding, who is chief executive of the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s (UDIA) South Australian branch, said it was essential to have a plan for infrastructure from the get-go with new developments.
“UDIA has been strong in its advocacy and consistent over more than a decade that we know where growth is going to happen based on the government’s Greater Adelaide Regional Plan and other plans; they have a 30-year projection of where growth will occur, and it’s essential that agencies engage with those plans to ensure that the infrastructure is going to be provided in a timely manner,” he said.
“We recognise that there may be times where infrastructure needs to follow development, but broadly speaking, the best developments are ones that are made with as much infrastructure as possible delivered upfront.”
Golding said Mount Barker was an example of a “broadly successful” development, but that “there have been some learnings about how infrastructure can be better managed by the state”.
Stay informed, daily
He said the UDIA is against placing responsibility on the private sector to provide infrastructure, such as schools, without a proportional reduction in government fees and taxes.
Ben Temperly, who is deputy chief executive for the Department for Education, told InDaily in a statement that previous forecasting on population growth in Mount Barker, which identified the need for more investment in education facilities, has since been adjusted.
“Over the years since, Mt Barker High School has never exceeded capacity, and is not forecast to do so by the Department for Education over the short-term,” he said.
Temperly said the Malinauskas government recognises that there is ongoing population growth in Mount Barker and has committed $61.1 million to construct a new preschool with 100 additional places, as well as a primary school with 350 places.
He said that $24.9 million has been committed to upgrading Mount Barker High School and Oakbank School to increase capacity and “better utilise latent capacity”.
“Mt Barker High School will see upgrades to the food technology kitchens, refurbished student amenities, new classrooms and workshops and a new external hard court and covered outdoor learning area,” he said.
“Oakbank School will see a $15.9 million rejuvenation to update its facilities and build on the school’s agriculture focus from Reception to Year 12, supported by a working farm on its 22-acre site.”
Education, Training and Skills Minister Blair Boyer said that former governments of both persuasions did not invest in new education facilities in Mount Barker, but that former Labor Education Minister Susan Close invested $6 million in Mount Barker High School and $7.5 million towards Mount Barker High School as part of the Building Better Schools initiative.
“In my very first year as Education Minister, upon the invitation of the local member Dan Cregan, I visited Mt Barker and spoke with local families and school communities,” he said.
“Following that visit, I tasked the department with completing a comprehensive analysis and business case, which was completed in 2024. This provided us with the appropriate information to commit $61.1 million to construct a new preschool, with an additional 100 places, and a new primary school that will have capacity for 350 enrolments.
“This shows this government is serious about this and taking action – I am so pleased we have been able to move forward in this commitment to respond to the additional population growth.”
Boyer said that, as well as new schools, the Malinauskas Labor government is investing in upgrading the facilities of existing schools in the area, including upgrades to Mount Barker High School to increase capacity and upgrades to Oakbank School.
“This has also been the basis of the 20-year infrastructure strategy I introduced that informs where education investment should be prioritised across the state,” he said.
“While we do have some schools that have enrolment pressures due to population growth, we also have a number of schools that are well under their enrolment capacity, where we want to encourage families to consider enrolling their children.
“This requires infrastructure investment, a focus on engaging specialisations and strong leadership – which is our focus for supporting schools.”
Boyer said the Malinauskas Labor government has prioritised future planning not only for education but also for housing, transport and health.
“Earlier this year, we announced a new $155m secondary school and a $70m new preschool and primary school in the northern suburbs to support the huge housing growth in the area,” he said.
“These investments are about planning for the future to ensure that when families move into these new suburbs, the infrastructure is right there, ready for them.”
