The issue of public access to school grounds has been raised, with concerns about the costs associated with building and maintaining small pocket parks compared to opening up school grounds to the community. Data comparing reported criminal damage on government school grounds that are open and closed found no statistical association between reported damage and whether schools are open or closed. In New Zealand, schools that are open to the community receive maintenance funding based on risk categories to address any additional costs. It is believed that schools should receive additional funding to manage maintenance and other costs if opened to the community outside school hours.
While shared facilities may be more expensive and complex to manage, it is considered more cost-effective to share school grounds than to build separate facilities. The social and health costs of leaving communities without access to open spaces for play and exercise are also a consideration. Families like the Murray-Alston’s find it beneficial to have access to school grounds outside of school hours and see the value in utilizing these spaces for recreation. The Victorian government has invested billions in building new schools and upgrading existing schools but did not provide information on which schools are closed to the public or if there are plans to open more school grounds to the community. The government states that most schools already offer public access to outdoor areas for recreational use and access to facilities for sporting clubs and community groups.
The Infrastructure Victoria report did not address whether private schools should open their grounds to the public. In NSW, there is pressure on top private schools to open their grounds, but the report focused on government schools built on public land. There is an opportunity to open up $6.5 billion worth of public land by allowing more school grounds to be accessible to the community. The issue of private school access to public land was highlighted in a dispute between the City of Yarra and Alphington Grammar over a gate installed by the private school to block community access to public land on Darebin Creek.
Overall, the debate over public access to school grounds raises questions about the most cost-effective and beneficial use of public spaces for recreation and community engagement. Opening up more school grounds could provide communities with valuable outdoor space for play and exercise, potentially reducing the need for costly pocket parks. Maintenance funding and risk assessment strategies like those in New Zealand could help schools manage additional costs associated with opening up their grounds to the public. As the discussion continues, it will be important to consider the social and health benefits of giving communities access to open spaces, as well as addressing concerns about vandalism and damage.
