On Monday, Dubbo MP Troy Grant and Parliamentary Secretary for Education Gareth Ward announced an additional $400,000 would go towards schools across the electorate, in addition to the $3.5 million already promised.

Dubbo College Delroy Campus principal Debbie Head said the main concerns for the school were leaking ceilings, floors that needed replacing and the upgrade of the industrial arts block.

“You can see everywhere the ceiling leaks when it rains and the whole problem is they patch it up instead of fixing it,” she said.

The school had been unable to hold metalwork for the past two years, Ms Head said, as the room was not up to standard.

The school was constructed in the 1980s, leaving even small items such as worn out carpet in need of replacing, the principal said.

“If you have a nice school people feel better to be here and that’s one of my big things, making the environment here beautiful so we have a lovely oasis for the children,” she said.

Earlier in the year it was revealed Dubbo College Delroy Campus had a $1.26 million maintenance backlog  – the worst of Dubbo’s schools. At the level of funding it was receiving at the time it would have taken 19 years for the school to be fixed.

Overall it was found there were 10 schools in the city with backlogs, totaling almost $4.8 million.

Dubbo College South Campus’ backlog was $1.2 million. Meanwhile Dubbo South Public School needed $619,000 to get up to scratch and for Dubbo West Public School it was $617,000.

The need for maintenance repairs was seen across the electorate, Mr Grant said.

“In Trangie we've got kids trying to learn music in the community hall which gets to 48 degrees in summer. It's a borrowed facility and the guttering is falling off. Over in Mudgee we've got a toilet block that you wouldn't let animals use, it's just not up to standard,” he said.

Mr Ward said the funding would make a real difference in the lives of students, while making teachers’ jobs even better.

“We believe that investing in front line services is so important and education is a part of that,” he said.

“Not everyone is going to have the best job, the best house, the best car but every one deserves the best shot at it and by providing strong public education by proving the resources our teachers need we can provide every opportunity for students.”

Mr Ward said maintenance was all around us but the NSW government was doing everything they could to address the backlog.