FEDERAL Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has described the construction of a second library at Annangrove Public School as ``the most monumental rip-off in government history''.
The school was allocated $850,000 under the $14.1 billion Primary Schools for the 21st Century (P21) program, part of Labor's Building the Education Revolution (BER) stimulus package.
The school asked for a hall.
Instead it was given a library, which was built next to the existing library.
Mr Abbott visited both on Wednesday, with education spokesman Christopher Pyne and federal member for Mitchell, Alex Hawke.
``What should have happened from the beginning is that the money should have been given to the school P&Cs they would have got value for money,'' Mr Abbott told the News.
``What we are going to announce today is that every unspent cent in this so-called BER program will be returned to the school community, because we are confident that they would be able to use any money saved ... to build what they thought the school needed.''
``Some one has ripped the public off big time and that happens to be Julia Gillard, who this P&C has written to many times without any response.''
If elected, Mr Abbott said a coalition government would not spend another cent of the $5.5 billion that was left in the program.
Any money left over, after planned construction was completed, would be given to principals to spend on other education or infrastructure projects.
``We'll treat them like adults, not like infant children. We trust them to make sensible decisions,'' Mr Abbott said.
``We're confident the principal will do the right thing by the kids. We trust the principals with our kids' futures. Why can't we trust them to manage the taxpayers' dollars?''
President of the Annangrove P&C Donna Hunter wrote four letters to now Prime Minister Julia Gillard about the mismanagement of money at the school, but received no reply.
``I am heartbroken for this school, not just for my two sons but for the up-and-coming students who will arrive at this school,'' she said.
``It's absolutely scandalous ... that's $850,000, that if we managed ourselves, could have renovated the entire school.''
``Unfortunately we got a second library. This will become redundant in summer.''
``It's a pathetic attempt to bring schools into the 21st century ... this is Third World.''
Mrs Hunter said the school wanted to convert its brick office building into a hall.
This requires moving two classrooms from the brick building into the old library.
``We want a letter from the Department of Education promising they won't take any of our demountables, which they will do if our numbers drop,'' she said.
``We want to make sure we somehow get a hall.''
The BER has been plagued by claims of waste.
Mr Hawke said many problems were brought to the attention of the Rudd Government last year and the government should have conducted a full judicial inquiry.
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