The NSW Education Minister has been told “do not return to Broken Hill” until a teacher shortage is fixed. 

Ms Mitchell visited Broken Hill this week to announce more than $20 million in funding to improve staff housing in remote areas.

However, many locals were frustrated by the lack of any plan to hold a forum with local teachers.

Ms Mitchell said having more housing for incoming teachers is a vital step. 

“We know it's important that we have great teacher housing, particularly in our harder-to-staff communities and in our more remote towns,” she said. 

“We know that in places like Broken Hill there really is pressure when it comes to rentals, so anything that we can do to help both attract and retain teachers to regional communities is really important.”

But the NSW Teachers Federation said local teachers were “quite angry” the minister turned up to announce housing for teachers that did not live there yet.

“Do not return to Broken Hill,” the union’s Broken Hill officer Brett Bertalli said. 

“We are telling the minister, do not come back to Broken Hill, do not return … unless you're prepared to resolve the staff crisis for our children and our students and schools of Broken Hill.

“I've got two or three teachers in my area every week telling me they're going to resign because it's just become too much, they're burnt out.”

Ms Mitchell later indicated she would return. 

“I am the Minister for Education and Early Learning and I will continue to visit schools right across NSW, including in Broken Hill, because that is a very important part of my job,” she said. 

“I would also politely remind union members that public schools are public and not run by the union.”