The following residents of the ACT draw the attention of the Assembly to the immediate need for new physical education learning facilities at Lyneham High School (LHS).
In the 2020 ACT Election, as a part of their election campaign, ACT Labor promised to replace the Lyneham High School Gym. Unfortunately, since then the government has backtracked on this promise, instead indicating in the 2024 Budget that they will merely refurbish the old gym. This investment is inadequate, given:
1. The current LHS gym does not meet building safety standards outlined by the National Construction Code; there is not enough space between the court markings and the wall, which is a safety hazard. Parts of the gym are also already sectioned off due to safety hazards, and the current plan to upgrade the gym floor to ‘competition standard’ is wasteful as neither the roof nor runoff space of the court are large enough to meet such standards.
2. The LHS student body (1061 students) is too large for the current school facility to adequately accommodate, harming students' ability to learn. For instance:
- The existing gym, hall, and Lyneham Performing Arts Centre (LPAC) all lack the capacity to hold full school assemblies. The school can barely provide the space for school three years to assemble at once, let alone the whole school.
- Approximately 300 students participate in Physical Education (PE) simultaneously at LHS. There is only one indoor sports facility to accommodate these students, irrespective of weather conditions.
- Classrooms are becoming more and more crowded (some exceeding 32 students per room), due to a lack of learning spaces and educators on school grounds. LHS is already at 98% capacity of students.
3. The population of the inner north region is expected to double in the next 35 years. If the current facilities can't properly accommodate half of this projected population, it will be physically impossible for LHS to provide an adequate education for students.
4. A new gym was already promised by ACT Labor. Backing out of this promise is unacceptable and degrades trust in the ACT Government. Plans for a new gymnasium had already gone through project planning and had been quoted, so there would also be a low start-up cost to get the project off of the ground.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the ACT Government to:
1. Follow through on the original plans for a new LHS gymnasium, and provide the funding needed to accommodate the construction of the building. This building will serve as a new assembly location for students, and provide adequate PE facilities for learning.
2. Continue with the refurbishment of the old LHS gym, transforming the existing building into new classrooms to help sustain the current and future student population.
3. Ensure honesty and integrity in all future election campaigns.