PARENTS at Gillieston Public School are showing cautious optimism following a parliamentary committee visit to investigate the school's "outdated" infrastructure.
P&C president Katie Ferguson, who has three children attending Gillieston Public, said while there are "a lot of positives" to the committee's visit she isn't holding her breath.
"I feel like the momentum is starting to move and without the committee coming I don't think anything would happen," Ms Ferguson said.
"But until I see the bulldozers in the paddock I'm going to keep on fighting."
Ms Ferguson said the immediate focus for parents is to have the school connected to a main sewerage line and for the boundary fence, currently chicken wire, to be replaced.
She said permanent classrooms need to be built to replace the existing demountables and sporting infrastructure provided to give the children an "equal opportunity".
In early May, Gillieston parents launched a petition to the state government to address infrastructure issues at the school. On May 9, a few of the parents travelled to Parliament House and made their case to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the planning and delivery of school infrastructure in NSW.
Chair of the inquiry's committee, One Nation MLC Mark Latham, visited the school on Wednesday and said he "couldn't imagine there is a place that has been more left behind".
"We've got a school that has been trapped in time unfortunately and without a masterplan, permanent buildings, sewerage, fencing and the entry statement it doesn't look like a school that is ready to service this community," Mr Latham said.
"We are hoping that the focus which came from the parents and now this visit will get an outcome for the school."
Maitland Labor MP Jenny Aitchison has been campaigning for the school since 2017 and said the committee's visit "came as a relief".
"It's good to have someone outside the Labor party visiting the school but if we are being led up the garden path again it is going to be very frustrating," Ms Aitchison said.
With a number of new housing developments in the region, the NSW Government projects the population around Gillieston Heights and Louth Park to more than double in the next 20 years. Taking the Maitland statistical area from around 8500 people in 2021 to more than 18,000 in 2041.
Chief executive of School Infrastructure NSW, Anthony Manning, was at the school on Wednesday and said as the population grows, current school infrastructure will not be suitable.
"We will be here before the end of the year to start the masterplan process and consult with community," Mr Manning said.
He said School Infrastructure intends to have an OOSH Hub for the school in "the next few months" and a boundary fence installed by the end of the year.
