In short:
Wyndham Deputy Mayor claims Truganina P-9 is overcrowded, citing enrolment figures of 2,200. School Council President disputes the data, saying numbers are under 2,000. The online clash fuels community concern over growth and infrastructure planning.
An online clash has erupted between Wyndham’s Deputy Mayor, Cr Josh Gilligan, and Truganina P-9 College School Council President Vinay Singla, over claims the school has exceeded its enrolment capacity.
In a Facebook post on 29 May, Cr Gilligan claims the college has “now breached the Department of Education’s own maximum limit on school enrolment demand at one of Wyndham’s biggest schools.”
He says new data reveals Truganina P-9 College now has nearly 2,200 students—381 more than the department’s forecasted capacity of 1,775.
“We deserve more than just housing and I call on the Minister for Planning to abandon any plan to back Intrapac in support of housing on primary school land!!!!” Cr Gilligan wrote.
But School Council President Vinay Singla disputes both the numbers and tone.
“Contrary to the figures cited, our current enrolment is well below 2,000 students—not the nearly 2,200 mentioned,” he says.
“Additionally, the college is not over capacity, and we are fortunate to have sufficient classroom space and infrastructure to support our students. We are not ‘crammed in,’ as suggested.”
Singla says the claims are misleading and could cause unnecessary concern in the community. He invited Cr Gilligan to visit the school to view the conditions for himself.
In response, Cr Gilligan pressed Singla for confirmation:
“Just so I can give you a final chance to stand by your commentary—can I confirm you’re stating, in your capacity as President of the Student Council of Truganina P-9 College, that the enrolment figures I’ve quoted are a lie?”
Singla replied that he had not called the figures a lie, but reaffirmed that the latest data available to the School Council shows fewer than 2,000 students enrolled. He added that growth is being managed with support from the Department of Education.
The online exchange has sparked widespread community interest, underscoring the growing strain on local schools and frustrations around planning decisions.
Cr Gilligan also used the post to criticise the state government’s lack of budget funding for Skeleton Creek P-6, after the earlier scrapping of Forsyth Creek Primary School.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings continue in the Supreme Court as Cr Gilligan and residents challenge a proposed housing development on land previously designated for a school.
