Around 300 schools across Southern Queensland will benefit from the State Government’s air-conditioning program, and 26 of them are state schools in Ipswich.
The government will be fast-tracking the release of $50 million to give hundreds of schools the opportunity to start air conditioning their classrooms over the summer school holidays.
“By fast-tracking this funding, work that had been planned in future years can begin now, providing a valuable boost to our economy,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said during her visit to the Centenary State High School, one of the recipients of the air-conditioning project.
The 26 Ipswich state schools to get fast-tracked school air-con funding are:
| Amberley District State School | Ipswich North State School |
| Brassall State School | Ipswich Special School |
| Bremer State High School | Ipswich State High School |
| Bundamba State Secondary College | Leichhardt State School |
| Bundamba State School | Redbank Plains State High School |
| Camira State School | Redbank Plains State School |
| Collingwood Park State School | Raceview State School |
| Fernbrooke State School | Richlands East State School |
| Goodna Special School | Silkstone State School |
| Goodna State School | Springfield Central State High School |
| Grandchester State School | Springfield Central State School |
| Ipswich Central State School | Springfield Lakes State School |
| Ipswich East State School | WoodLinks State School |
As with the previous Cooler Schools Program, these schools have been selected using heat discomfort data, based on a combination of the highest average apparent temperature data and the highest number of school days in Term 1 and Term 4 above 30°C.
According to Education Minister Grace Grace, an audit of every school outside the ‘Cooler Schools Zone’, is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Spaces including classrooms, libraries and staff rooms will be air conditioned under this accelerated program.
“Today’s announcement will ensure classrooms in places like Charleville, Gympie and Ipswich will now be air-conditioned, along with schools in our hottest suburbs in Brisbane,” Ms Grace said in a media statement.
