Bathrooms at Macquarie Primary School have fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair with repeated funding requests being rejected, parents say.
Vice-president of the school's parents and citizens group Rebecca Richardson said the bathrooms were on the top of a long list of maintenance issues at Belconnen's oldest public primary school.
"It's come to the point now where it's actually dangerous. There are cracks and missing tiles on the floor in the girls bathrooms where the kids could really easily trip on those and cut themselves," she said.
"The taps are leaking and they can't turn them on or off properly.
"There's grout missing. There's sort of cracked and missing tiles. It's not acceptable."
She said parents were particularly concerned about taps not being fully functional during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school received funding from the Education Directorate to install air conditioning last year after thermometers placed in classrooms showed the work spaces were reaching up to 40 degrees in the summer.
It was understood that the funding could cover air conditioning or renovations in the bathrooms but not both.
Meanwhile, the school's basketball courts are cracked and uneven with weeds growing through the playing surface. Parents were told that the Education Directorate deemed it to be too costly to re-level the courts so the project was shelved.
Mrs Richardson said the P&C didn't want to have to spend time and effort fundraising for basic maintenance and repairs while watching new schools being constructed with excellent facilities.
"It's sort of galling to see that these kids who just happen to live in the new suburb therefore are given a greater opportunity to access beautiful facilities," she said.
"And you know Macquarie is a great school and I love it, but my kids have subpar facilities and I don't think it's fair."
She said the poor facilities were not a reflection of the dedication of the principal and teachers, who had given up time in the school holidays to repaint and rehang bathroom doors themselves.
The P&C have lobbied members of the Legislative Assembly to get money for maintenance to no avail. Mrs Richardson said the parents had turned to the media as a last resort.
They have no indication of where Macquarie Primary School falls in the Education Directorate's list of maintenance priorities.
ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry did not directly respond to questions about whether it was acceptable that a school didn't have fully functioning taps during a pandemic.
"I have asked the Education Directorate to repair the taps and tiles at Macquarie Primary School and continue to work with the school on their infrastructure priorities," Ms Berry said.
She said the ACT government had committed more than $114 million to upgrade public schools over four years. The Education Directorate did not respond to questions by deadline.
The Legislative Assembly will conduct an inquiry into school infrastructure including the management of hazardous substances, ongoing maintenance of facilities and capacity issues in Canberra's schools.
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