By BRIDGET SCOTT
A MOTHER of students at a Cranbourne school has been left outraged by the state of some of the school’s facilities.
Natasha Marsh, whose children attend Cranbourne South Primary School, was shocked when she discovered the standard of the toilet facilities.
The concerned mother said she had lobbied the Department of Education for an upgrade, but her calls had gone unanswered.
“It’s been going back and forth for more than six months,” she said.
She said the “stench from the toilets was atrocious” and she contacted the Department of Education as a concerned parent.
“It’s a health issue,” she said.
“I’ve heard complaints from several parents regarding it.”
Ms Marsh said the toilet was the only toilet facility in the school and it was not functioning properly.
“They must provide a feasible working amenity,” Ms Marsh said.
In an email to the department, she listed a set of issues which included a sewer problem, broken locks, and doors jamming shut, doors not shutting, broken toilet roll holders and broken toilet seats.
Ms Marsh said the doors which jammed shut were a concern in case a young student was not able to get out.
“It’s not good enough,” she said.
Acting principal Elene Archbold however issued a statement on behalf of the school which said the school had recently conducted repairs and maintenance on the toilets.
“These repairs include repairing locks on doors, replacing toilet roll holders and having a plumber come out regularly to address faulty toilet units,” she said.
“In addition, our toilets are cleaned every night by professional cleaners, and are maintained on a regular basis. A routine inspection last night confirmed that all toilets are in good working order,” she said.
“Our school is also in the process of being connected to mains sewerage – once an engineer’s report is complete, the project will be put to tender.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Education also confirmed there had been funding provided for Cranbourne South Primary School to be connected to mains sewerage.
“Once the final engineer’s report is complete, the department will issue a tender for this project,” they said.
“All Victorian schools receive annual maintenance funding, and are responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of their facilities.“
