Doubt over the future of two inner-Brisbane school campuses is frustrating communities as Queensland's growing population puts pressure on capacity.
The opening date of the planned new inner-west primary school is set to be delayed for the second time after the Queensland education department quietly updated its project website last year.
The timeline for the school's build on the education department's website was last updated in October 2022, changing the scheduled opening date from "day one, term one in 2024" to "under review" and downgrading the project phase from "design" to "planning".
Meanwhile, the East Brisbane State School community is reigniting calls for consultation with the government to save the school from being moved due to plans to demolish and expand the nearby Gabba stadium ahead of the 2032 Olympics.
It comes as the latest forecast from the Australian government's Centre for Population suggests Brisbane will be home to almost 3.082 million people by 2032-33 — half of the state's projected population.
KPMG director of planning and infrastructure economics, Terry Rawnsley, said population growth could result in 3,000 to 4,000 additional school-aged children in inner-Brisbane over the next five years.
Unpopular locations
The Palaszczuk government announced in July 2020 it would build the first vertical state primary school in Brisbane's inner west suburbs to open for the start of school in 2023 for $65 million.
The first preferred location was at Indooroopilly State High School but after outcry over flooding, traffic and the government later announced the grounds of the former Toowong Bowls Club, and delayed the opening until 2024.
That decision was made despite community concerns that the area had previously flooded significantly and environmental concerns about a flying fox colony on the park.
The department said the concept master plan accounted for flood levels and positioned all learning, administration and indoor areas at least 2 metres above the 2011 flood.
The area was flooded again in February last year, prompting outcry from residents about the unsuitability of the site.
Education Minister Grace Grace then suggested a new location may be required in August last year in light of community feedback and stabilising enrolments in the area, with a departmental report on a subsequent round of consultation to be released.
Acting education minister Leanne Linard said the consultation report was currently being finalised for the government's consideration.
Calls for transparency
LNP education spokesman Christian Rowan said the state government's consultation about the new inner-west primary school had been a complete failure.
"The fact that the state government does not even include Brisbane's Inner West on its list of ongoing planning work for new schools in Queensland tells residents all they need to know about the lack of commitment this Labor government has to delivering desperately needed school infrastructure," he said.
Ms Linard said she was advised "that following the 2022 floods, the indication is that the inner west community is not supportive of a new school on the Toowong Bowls Club site".
"This is in contrast to feedback given in two rounds of extensive community consultation prior to the 2022 floods, where sentiment was in favour of this site opposed to other options."
Future years in doubt
Meanwhile, the future of East Brisbane State School remains in doubt almost two years after the state government announced plans to redevelop the neighbouring Gabba stadium ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
The school community has staunchly opposed any plans to redevelop the Gabba stadium that would result in the school being relocated.
East Brisbane State School P&C chair Haline Ly said the government needed to consult the people it represented before making plans to demolish a much-loved community.
She said most students walked or rode their bikes to the school, with 85 per cent of parents agreeing there needs to be a school in the catchment.
"Little legs on busy roads. How far will they make us walk," she said.
Greens MP Amy MacMahon said the government had left East Brisbane State School and the community in the dark about how the Gabba redevelopment would affect the school.
Ms MacMahon said there were prep kids who enrolled last week who didn't know if they would be graduating from the school.
She said there was a great need for a school in the area with a "huge amount of property development" and a "steep growth of school communities" in the South Brisbane electorate.
Ms Linard said options would be discussed with the school once a decision had been made about the extent and timing of the stadium rebuild.
Growth boosts school demand
Queensland's school-aged population is set to increase by 11.6 per cent, or 102,600 students, between 2021 and 2031, according to state government data.
The state government opened four new state schools this year, with plans to open at least six more in 2024, and five more in 2025 and 2026.
Mr Rawnsley said the south-east Queensland school-aged population was about 470,000 and was expected to grow by up to 100,000 over the next decade.
"The main pinch point for Brisbane is in Ipswich, Ripley Valley, City of Logan, where there's going to be about half of all the growth in school-aged people," he said.
Mr Rawnsley said people would be more inclined to move to outer suburbs if inner-city schools didn't have capacity or it was difficult to get into them.
"If new capacity comes on, new schools open, it actually attracts younger families into the area," he said.
"So longer-term, it can become a bit of a chicken in the egg situation."
However, Ms Linard said schools in Brisbane's inner-west were operating below their student capacity, as was East Brisbane State School and its neighbouring schools.
It is understood those schools include Ironside and Toowong State School and Dutton Park, Buranda, Coorparoo, West End and Norman Park State Schools.
"Since coming to government we have opened 25 schools," Ms Linard said.
However, Greens MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman said even though pressure on local primary schools had eased slightly, the west side was not going to stop growing anytime soon.
"Without this new school, it won't be long until we're dealing with full classrooms, limited pool and library time and long after-school care wait lists again," he said.
