Arabic version: الوزيرة تقرّ بأن تمويل دمج مدارس أليس سبرينغز لا يكفي

According to ABC News, Northern Territory Education Minister Jo Hersey has acknowledged that the $500,000 allocated for upgrades at Centralian Middle School is not enough to prepare the Alice Springs campus for its planned transition to Alice Springs College.

Centralian Middle School and Centralian Senior College are due to merge next year, with years 11 and 12 set to move to the Gillen campus in 2028. Hersey said classroom modifications, lighting upgrades and replacement carpets should be completed before the 2027 school year. After touring the site, she said the campus was not currently fit for purpose and equitable.

Hersey said the department had committed to providing the money needed for changes required before the start of the school year. Construction is expected to begin about November 24, and she guaranteed the campus would be ready for the new school year. She had expected the work to have started already after the merger was delayed by a year.

Centralian Senior College School Council treasurer Elliat Rich called the original allocation a “band-aid” and said the merger should be an opportunity for proper investment in public education. Rich said the proposed works were the minimum needed to accommodate students and called for clearer timelines, funding commitments and greater school-community involvement. Hersey said a broader master plan was needed, estimating a comprehensive upgrade could cost about $30 million, though she said funding at that level was unlikely in the next two territory budgets. She promised both school councils an updated plan within two weeks.