BER Waste Being Uncovered
THe Parents and Citizens Association of Tottenham CEntral School in NSW has described the BER as a “colossal waste of taxpayer and government money.”
“We thought it was going to be great…when you’re getting something worth $600,000, you don’t think small,” president of the P&C, Rick Bennett, said.
“The new canteen can’t even store all our freezers and with a pie-warmer, meat slicer and microwave on the stainless steel bench, there is hardly any room to prepare food.”
Catholic schools had a more “hands on” approach to the implementation of its buildings, under the system – whereas government schools were told what they would get, according to The Australian.
The implementation of the system is the subject of a Senate hearing, where the above costs between Catholic and public schools were revealed.
New South Wales Department of Education director-general Michael Coutts-Trotter was unable to explain the cost difference between buildings delivered in the Catholic system, versus the government ones.
Total Building Costs Per Square Metre:
| Catholic* | Public# | |
| $2,451 | Library | $5,400 |
| $2,426 | Classroom | $4,271 |
| $3,500 | Hall | $5,800 |
| $4,053 | Canteen | $13300 – $23000 |
* Includes 40 per cent fee for additional non construction costs
# includes non-construction costs
Source: The Australian
