Concern have been raised about infrastructure funding during national teaching crisis. Picture Credit: Ben Baumann

A $2.1b infrastructure boost for WA’s public schools during the next four years has been announced as leaders grapple with teacher shortages across the nation.

The State Government on Monday outlined that $400m would be used to fix the state’s aging schools, more than $68m would go towards building a new high school in Alkimos and the rest on upgrading and expanding capacity at schools across the state.

In a statement, WA Premier Roger Cook said infrastructure funding will ease stress on the sector.

“This strong investment is a commitment to their futures, and to the workplaces of thousands of Western Australian teachers,” Mr Cook said.

The move was welcomed by Teacher’s Professional Association of Western Australia president Scott Stanford, he criticised prioritising infrastructure over teachers and staff.

“There is a massive teacher shortage at the moment Australia-wide and I think we need to start looking after our teachers, otherwise we’re going to have state of the art classrooms with no one to teach in them,” he said.

While WA’s Education Minister Sabine Winton has rejected claims the state is grappling with a teaching crisis, the Department of Education’s 2024-25 annual report shows that 1279 teachers resigned in that period – the highest number since records began.

Opposition education minister Liam Staltari labelled the announcement as misleading and said that the latest founding boost plays catch up on school infrastructure after years of neglect.

“If infrastructure had been properly maintained, schools wouldn’t now be overcrowded and under pressure,” Mr Staltari said.

“The government’s $2.1b headline figure is misleading – most of it is already included
in the 2025–26 Budget or previously announced.”

Four schools, including Harrisdale Senior High, Inglewood Primary and two schools in Piara Waters – Riva and Piara Waters – will each receive $96.2m to increase capacity.

Inglewood Primary School’s (IPS) campus is currently split between three locations across the City of Stirling and the City of Bayswater.

IPS Parents and Citizen Association former president Jemma Howard Plaisted said dropping and picking up from multiple campuses was a nightmare for parents with more than one child.

“It is tricky because if you’ve got multiple kids and you’re driving, you’re constantly taking extra kids to extra sites and dragging them around, and it’s time consuming,” Ms Plaisted said.

WA’s budget will be fully released on May 7.