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Much-needed maintenance for Shepparton schools

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Welcome funding: Gowrie St Primary School and Bourchier St Primary School will receive a combined total of $295,000. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

Up to 80 schools in Victoria, including two in Shepparton, will benefit from $4.51 million of funding for much-needed maintenance work.

Gowrie St Primary School and Bourchier St Primary School have been earmarked to receive a combined total of $295,000 in state funding to ensure their facilities are properly maintained.

Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said the maintenance work, part of the state’s Planned Maintenance Program, would include repairing day-to-day wear and tear, fixing roofs and windows, repainting walls, resurfacing floors and replacing windows, pathways and stairs.

“This program is about making sure students and teachers have access to the safe and modern learning environments they deserve,” Ms Symes said.

Schools involved in the maintenance program include:

• Heathcote Primary School, which will receive $270,000 for high-priority maintenance tasks.

• Merrigum Primary School, which will receive $10,000 for high-priority maintenance tasks.

• Devenish Primary School, which will receive $10,000 for high-priority maintenance tasks.

• Zeerust Primary School, which will receive $5000 for high-priority maintenance tasks.

• Gowrie St Primary School, Shepparton, which will receive $260,000 for high-priority maintenance tasks.

• Bourchier St Primary School, Shepparton, which will receive $35,000 for high-priority maintenance tasks.

In the past eight years, the Andrews Government has invested $12.8 billion in building new schools and more than 1850 school upgrades, which have created around 17,400 jobs in construction and associated industries.

The government is ahead of schedule in its plan to open 100 new schools by 2026, with 75 new schools opening between 2019 and 2024.