THE Catholic Church waited so long to tell the State Government its World Youth Day pilgrim numbers had changed that the Government was forced to install far more showers and smoke alarms than needed in schools intended to house them. The equipment was installed in as many as 412 schools - more than four times the necessary number - because the church waited until last month to tell the Government it would not need many of the schools requested.
Many of the pilgrims who were meant to be housed in schools ended up at Sydney Olympic Park.
The World Youth Day Co-ordination Authority, set up by the state to facilitate the event, would not comment on the cost of the unnecessary installations, or the exact number of schools affected, but a source involved said the figure was expected to be about $8000 a school.
As much as $3.2 million may have been spent on the project.
The president of the NSW Secondary Principals Council, Jim McAlpine, described the installation as "manna from heaven" for tradesmen.
He said it was a shame schools had not been properly consulted and principals were not given the opportunity to steward running costs and keep the new facilities.
"I think it's quite extraordinary that improvements are being made on a temporary basis and then these improvements are being removed, " he said.
Mr McAlpine said many schools had contacted him to voice their concerns, particularly over the loss of revenue from hall rentals.
Schools would not be compensated and would each have lost up to several hundred dollars.
Lee Rhiannon, the Greens spokeswoman for World Youth Day, said the Government appeared mean in its handling of the matter.
"With the under-funding of the public school system it is a bad look for the NSW Government and the Catholic World Youth Day Authority to remove this equipment," she said.
The co-ordinating authority said it had the power only to make temporary augmentations.
A church spokeswoman said: "The event went fine; I don't know why you want to focus on all the negatives."
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