Centennial Park overturns price hikes for public schools
Image: “PSSA has been in existence for over 120 years. A lot of sports stars from our area and probably across NSW, would have played PSSA and cut their teeth at Centennial parkland," Ms O'Brien said. Photo: Justine Bennett
BY ALEXANDER LEWIS
Parents of public school students playing school sport in the eastern suburbs have won the battle against field hire spikes at Centennial Park.
Centennial Parklands has guaranteed that field hire fees for the Sydney Coastal Primary School Sports Association (SCPSSA) will never increase above inflation.
“The certainty regarding field hire fees should enable the SCPSSA and others to plan sporting activities in Centennial Park well into the future,”
Centennial Parklands Executive Director Kim Ellis wrote in a letter to the association dated August 11. Lobby group Save PSSA in Centennial
Parklands had been campaigning for a promise of affordable field hire after changes to the park’s financial model occasioned a $20,000 increase to their field hire bill last year.
The group’s spokesperson Kilty O’Brien, who has two children playing PSSA sport, said the entire Sydney Coastal zone competition would have to cease if Centennial Park rates rose again.
“If it’s looking like fees are rising to a point where it’s unaffordable, principals will make a call that we cannot compete in those competitions,” Ms O’Brien told City Hub.
“There’s a whole range of social economic groups at public schools, even in what is deemed more affluent areas like Bondi, and principals have a responsibility to all those students.”
She pointed to the SCPSSA’s neighbouring association, Sydney South, which was forced to leave Centennial Parklands this year because the
rates were no longer affordable for parents.
Sydney South schools now play at Tempe with no fees, but there are neither goal posts nor markings.
“Our difficulty in our area is that we don’t have an alternative, we don’t have another park land in this coastal area that can accommodate 17 schools coming together and playing sport,” Ms O’Brien said.
Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, who wrote a letter in support of the SCPSSA campaign, said it was good to see a commitment to no fee increases above the consumer price index.
“I raised concerns about big jumps in school sporting fees to use parklands early this year, and the acting NSW Environment and Heritage Chief Executive told me in March that public schools would be moved from a block six-monthly fee to hourly fees based on use, but discounted 20 to 30 per cent from the standard user charges,” Mr Greenwich said.
“I remain concerned that public schools have affordable access to sporting fields, which are vital active programs. Successive government budget cuts have pushed the parklands into fee hikes.”
Ms O’brien said the decision was a big win which opened the door for further community-driven change.
“It’s a very welcome position for us to have had this change from Centennial Parklands in terms of guaranteeing our access, and we feel like it’s a better position to be able to now give other issues that really impact upon us as a local public school community,” she said.
The SCPSSA’s next battle will be to reclaim rain credits, which would essentially mean the group would no longer have to pay hire fees if a game was rained out, and to have booking amendment fees waived.
“It’s hard to finalise the numbers nine months in advance. If those bookings change in any way, we have to pay an amendment fee as well,” Ms O’Brien said.
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