Regular power outages and "sporadic" installation of air conditioning have plagued Lambton High School for more than five years, according to the school's parents and citizens association.
Ausgrid records showed the school's internal switchboard was replaced in 2021 but parents said poor electricity supply from an external power box remained the source of persistent blackouts.
A Department of Education spokesperson said: "the school previously received funding from Department of Education to upgrade its electrical infrastructure on school grounds."
Lambton High School's parents and citizens association (P&C) president Rhona Hammond questioned the benefit of this funding in a video posted to Facebook this week.
"A few years ago, the education department upgraded the electricity supply ... inside the school but they only did half the job. They didn't upgrade the ... box that connects us to the electricity supply," Ms Hammond said in the video.
Ms Hammond told the Newcastle Herald "any kind of thing" could trip the "outdated" electrical supply located just outside the school gate. The P&C believed the power box was installed about the same time as the school was built in 1974.
"In the winter, when it's cold, if somebody puts on a heater, that can [trip it]. All the power will shut down and the principal has to go out and reset it," she said.
The P&C had committed $80,000 to upgrade air conditioning in the school but said the project was deemed not possible.
The school previously applied to the Cooler Classrooms program - a $500 million state government initiative to install air conditioning in schools that average January temperatures of 30 degrees or more.
Thirty-four schools in Newcastle and the Upper Hunter met this requirement and were automatically included, according to the Department of Education.
Eight Hunter schools with a mean maximum January temperature below 30 degrees were also approved but Lambton High School was not among them.
It was later selected for a sustainable energy pilot program for NSW public schools.
"Lambton High School has been successful and will be included in the Smart Energy School Pilot Project to have solar panels and batteries installed to provide additional electrical capacity," the Department of Education spokesperson said.
Ms Hammond believed students and teachers continued to suffer "brain melting" conditions that were not properly addressed.
She remained concerned for public schools state-wide who she believed were not awarded comprehensive infrastructure.
"Two thirds of students [in NSW] go to public schools. We are not second rate citizens," she said.
"The demands of power are only going to increase because we are using a lot more technology," Ms Hammond said. "We now have more students in the school than we've had in a long time ... we are using a lot more technology."
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