Lyneham High School will still be getting a "refurbished" gym despite an assembly inquiry labelling the project as an "inefficient and an inappropriate use of funds".
ACT budget documents for the 2026-27 financial year, released on June 10, still include $5.7 million for "refurbishing" the school gym, despite continued parent advocacy for a brand new building.
2025 documents revealed the government had already commissioned designs for a new double gymnasium but ended up changing the project, which the school community said was a broken promise.
Parents have shown The Canberra Times an estimate for a new public high school gym, which cost less than what has been budgeted for the Lyneham refurbishment.
New Lyneham High parent Nick, who asked for his last name not to be included and spoke before the release of the budget, said the funding did not make sense.
"Surely a gym could be built, maybe for even cheaper on the school grounds, there's space for it and they can then reuse the existing gym as more classrooms," he said.
"Should the minister decide to ignore the outcomes of the standing committee and continue with the refurbishment, I can't understand how it could be justified," he said.
"I really think a reasonably minded person would expect a school to have a gym that is not condemned, is safe to play a game of basketball on and is a space in the school that the whole school can gather on."
A government spokesperson said the refurbishment was "in line with the project scope".
The spokesperson said more consultation would be happening with the school community to complete design work and then construction should start in 2027.
The budget papers said the project is expected to be completed by November 2028.
The biggest new education spending in the 2026-27 budget includes $9.3 million to action reforms recommended by the independent resourcing review.
The government has agreed with the review and is working to ensure public schools work more cohesively as a system.
Nine public schools across Canberra will have 32 gas furnaces replaced and more electric reverse-cycles systems installed.
The upgrades are expected to cost $8.9 million and be completed by September 2027.
A portion of the funding, $1.536 million, comes from the government's election commitment to spend $30 million on heating and cooling upgrades and $4.275 million comes from the government's Electrification of Government Gas Assets Program.
The childcare regulator has received additional funding to complete more audits.
This comes after a tranche of childcare documents were released about abuse, accidents and negligence in the ACT.
Some childcare centres in the territory have not been visited by the regulator since 2024. In the 2024-25 financial year the regulator completed 249 audits out of 374 registered services.
ACT Parents will be running a parent advocacy trial in 2027 and 2028 to help families stay engaged with schools.
This was a commitment from the 2024 election, funded from the education directorate's existing budget.
ACT Parents will receive a $230,000 grant in 2027 and again in 2028 to "provide information, tools and support to families".
The last six months of 2026 will be spent setting up the program which will begin at the start of the 2027 school year.
In 2025 and 2026, Canberra specialist schools closed multiple times prompting parents to call for a Plan B to ensure their children do not miss more school.
At the same time, an independent school resourcing review found specialist services were not meeting student needs.
The government will spend $600,000 investigating if an expansion of flexible education and specialist schools is needed in the long-term.
Most of the money will be spent in the 2027-28 financial year.
A government spokesperson said this decision was based on analysis of specialist school enrolment figures.
Work is progressing on the new college for Gungahlin and the government has budgeted an additional $2 million to be spent in 2029-30. The project is expected to be completed by 2030.
The education equity fund, where parents can access between $400 and $750 per student to help with the cost of education, will continue for another year.
It will cost $977,000 in 2026-27. Last year 6,283 students accessed the fund.
