The commitment was announced after Albert Park MP Nina Taylor and Education Minister Gabrielle Williams visited the school. Labor says a re-elected government would invest $3.77 million to upgrade St Kilda Park Primary School, with works focused on modernising existing facilities.
The party’s announcement described the school as deserving “modern, fit-for-purpose facilities” and said the funding would give students, teachers and families the spaces they need for years to come.
Williams said: “Labor knows every great education starts with a great local school.”
Taylor said the proposed upgrade and modernisation “will ensure this beautiful school continues to thrive for many years to come”.
The promise gives the school a substantial funding offer and acknowledges the need for capital works, but it is well short of the school community’s preferred plan.
In a School Council update, the school said it welcomed the commitment and was grateful for Taylor’s advocacy, but argued the money would not resolve its central problem.
“Spending almost $4 million to renovate the student toilets and adjust the storage space and doors to a small existing performing arts room will not solve the problem,” it said.
The school says the proposed works would still leave it without an indoor space large enough to bring the whole school together.
St Kilda Park Primary has about 320 students and says it cannot hold assemblies, indoor sport or performances in a single suitable space. Activities can be disrupted by rain or extreme heat.
Its preferred $10 million proposal would deliver a new building with a large hall, dedicated science and language classrooms, and facilities that could also be used by community groups outside school hours.
The City of Port Phillip has unanimously backed the school’s advocacy.
Councillors supported a motion noting the proposed multi-purpose facility and community hall, recognising the wider benefit of more indoor meeting and activity space, and asking the mayor to provide a letter supporting the school’s approach to the state government.
The council’s position strengthens the case that the project would serve more than the immediate school population, particularly along the St Kilda Road corridor, where the school says families have limited access to local indoor community spaces.
The debate is also taking place against evidence of wider maintenance pressures across Port Phillip schools.
The Victorian Auditor-General’s Delivering School Upgrade Projects 2026 report examined whether the Victorian School Building Authority effectively targets and manages upgrade projects and meets school needs.
Of the 14 Port Phillip schools included in the material reviewed by TWiSK, nine had condition scores in the worn or poor categories. (See details in previous TWiSK storyTa)
St Kilda Park Primary recorded the lowest published local condition score, 3.09, placing it in the poor category. Nearby St Kilda Primary School was rated worn, with a score of 3.34.
Other local schools rated poor or worn included Middle Park Primary, Montague Continuing Education Centre, Albert Park Primary, Elwood Primary, Elwood College, Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School and Port Phillip Specialist School.
The audit findings do not determine which projects should be funded first, but they place St Kilda Park Primary’s concerns within a broader backlog of ageing school infrastructure.
Labor’s $3.77 million commitment therefore presents voters with a re-election promise rather than the full project sought by the school.
Labor can point to immediate improvements and significant investment at a school rated poor. The school argues that renovating existing areas could consume substantial public money without delivering the large, flexible facility needed for educational and community use over the longer term.
The School Council says it is now meeting representatives and candidates “across the political spectrum” to seek stronger capital works commitments.
That approach puts pressure on other parties to state whether they support the $10 million hall plan, an alternative project, or Labor’s more limited package. It also leaves open important questions about the scope, timing and final design of any upgrade.
For the school community, the election promise is progress but not the end of the campaign.
The immediate choice is not simply between funding and no funding, but between improving existing facilities now and pursuing a more ambitious project intended to serve the school and neighbourhood for decades.
With council support secured and discussions underway with other parties, the size and purpose of the eventual investment are likely to remain live local election issues.
SKiPPS capital works funding advocacy update from School Council
Full statement from School Council, 10 Oct 2026
“On Wednesday night, the City of Port Phillip passed a motion to provide a letter of support to assist the school’s advocacy ‘for state government funding of the proposed upgrades, noting the potential community benefit associated with increased access to community meeting and activity spaces’.
“On Thursday, Albert Park MP Nina Taylor and Education Minister Gabrielle Williams visited SKiPPS, and subsequently released a public commitment to provide the school with $3.77M in capital works funding, should Labour win the election next month.
“While the SKiPPS community welcomes this promise, and we are grateful for Nina Taylor’s advocacy on our behalf, we are continuing to push for a better solution. Spending almost $4 million to renovate the student toilets and adjust the storage space and doors to a small existing performing arts room will not solve the problem. It will not deliver a space large enough to hold the whole school community and, crucially, it will not provide dedicated science and language classrooms, or a large indoor hall in a new building that could be accessed by community groups across the City of Port Philip.
“The SKiPPS school council and broader parent community are meeting with representatives and candidates across the political spectrum to seek commitments for capital works funding that represent better value for money for the Victorian Government, and better facilities for not just SKiPPS, but for the wider City of Port Phillip community – particularly those families along the St Kilda Rd corridor with no current access to local indoor community spaces.”
