Community & Business
16 March, 2022
Million-dollar high school investment
NEARLY $1.5 million of facility upgrades and additions to Mareeba State High School has begun in earnest.
With assistance from a State Government grant, the school has been able construct a Flexispace centre to support student learning and install a brand new toilet block.
Principal Scott Whybird said $300,000 has been allocated for the new Flexispace centre and construction had already begun.
“Currently, room X01 is being upgraded to provide greater flexibility in classroom delivery options to trial ways of better engaging students to achieve improved results,” he said.
“The school has added a further $125,000 to construct a toilet block in the area to support the engagement of the community in student learning.”
The bulk of the grant money has gone towards upgrading toilet facilities at school, namely replacing the original block toilets that were built in 1959, equating to a cost of $1.1 million to replace the outdated amenities.
“The upgrade of the toilet block will provide a safer and more usable area for all students,” Mr Whybird said.
“It is through the support of the school community master planning workshops and the P&C that we are able to plan for these changes and make the school experience for students even better.”
All the current developments fit in with the master plan documents that were developed by the school community in 2020 – an exercise that will guide how the school will develop in coming years.
In addition to these works, the school applied for the School Refresh Program, a program that works with schools on a dollar-for-dollar matching program to refresh school buildings.
Mareeba High was successful in its application and the government has matched the school’s contribution of $123,431 total, taking it to just under $250,000 to repaint identified buildings within the school grounds.
Several buildings have already been identified as a priority that need to be repainted by July.
