'I was in tears': College to get new building as final stage to fix neglect

The single building is stage three of a $9.4 million funding announcement in the 2019 budget that included repairs and maintenance, and a science and resources centre - projects that have been completed.

Attorney-General and Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes travelled to Beechworth on Tuesday, May 7, to inspect the site.

"It's pretty amazing, it's a great school to work with, we're announcing $6.4 million today which is mainly for a hospitality canteen and more classrooms," the member for Northern Victoria said.

"The history of my involvement here is that when I got elected in 2014, looked around the electorate and got to the school and I left almost in tears.

"I thought this just been neglected, it was awful, so I put it as the number one priority and we've been chipping away ever since to get it all done."

Ms Symes was unsure when construction would start on the new infrastructure, saying, "We're just confirming that they have the funding today."

"Last year the budget funded planning money so now they're basically ready to go in terms of architectural designs," she said.

Ms Symes said the budget included more than $1.8 billion in statewide education projects, including $948 million to deliver the remaining 16 new schools.

"That includes a brand-new primary school for Wodonga East," she said. "The new Leneva Primary School on Frederic Street Road will support the needs of our growing community.

"This budget also invests in upgrading schools across our state, including three in northern Victoria - Swan Hill North Primary, Eildon Primary, and Beechworth Secondary College ... (which) will upgrade and modernise each of these schools."

But Tuesday's budget wasn't good news for everyone, Ovens Valley MP Tim McCurdy said, referring specifically to Wangaratta High School.

"Labor has let down the staff and students at Wangaratta High School by stalling the high school build for at least another year," Mr McCurdy said.

"Whilst Labor has continued to spend reckless amounts of money on Melbourne-based projects which have blown out by billions of dollars, the regions are left to pay the price of the increased debt and deficit."

He said the government was happy to fund new schools and upgrades in their own seats while backing away from regional seats.

"Wangaratta deserves a fair share for education, roads, and health," Mr McCurdy said "It is clear that Labor is playing politics with education by withholding this funding, and making regional schools suffer in order to finance the big build in Melbourne."

Ms Symes said the budget would help students and parents with the costs of uniforms, camps and excursions.

"We are providing a one-off School Saving Bonus to help cover the costs," she said. "This $400 bonus will help make sure our kids have everything they need for the school day, supporting families with children at government schools and families at our non-government schools who need it most.

"Dedicated to helping cover the cost of learning essentials and the extracurriculars that make school fun - we'll work with schools to make it available for the start of the 2025 school year.

"We're also tripling our free Glasses for Kids program making sure even more young Victorians can be their best in the classroom, and beyond ... this investment will help 74,000 more, providing free vision screening and prescription glasses for students.

"(And) we're investing $6 million to extend our Get Active Kids vouchers, providing up to $200 to help eligible families with the cost of sporting club registration, uniforms and equipment."