A new primary school is set to be included in planning for the upcoming Newcastle Education Campus, but construction could be on the backburner.
The project is slated to include a new high school in addition to the primary school, but a timeline, budget, and other specifics are currently unclear.
Department of Education School Infrastructure NSW Chief Executive Anthony Manning told budget estimates on Tuesday the school was not needed "immediately".
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp says it needs to happen "sooner rather than later".
"The numbers that are projected for primary schools in the city, as you can see with all the apartments being built, are going to go sky high," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"It's better to build it now, rather than say oop, we've hit the number threshold, now let's build it, and that'll take some years."
Budget estimates heard from Mr Manning, the school would be able to happen quickly when the need crystallised.
But Mr Crakanthorp said there needs to be a commitment now.
"I'll keep pushing it, so it will happen," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"But you know, the fact that they're saying they're going to put the primary school off and just do a few repairs initially in the first stages, simply is not good enough."
