Yesterday, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced the special needs school had received $4 million in funding for the work, which will result in its three blocks being swapped for one new building.
Two other Dunedin schools, Grant's Braes School and Anderson's Bay School, will also receive a new classroom each, as part of a separate $8 million funding package for 15 schools around the South Island.
Remarkables Primary School in Frankton was also included, and will receive two new classrooms.Work on the Dunedin schools is due to start in mid-2019, but Remarkables principal Debbie Dickson said her school was still waiting to discuss details with the ministry.
Another $10 million was granted yesterday for the redevelopment of Oxford Area School in North Canterbury.
Sara Cohen caters for children with disabilities, and has about 37 pupils ranging in age from 5 to 21 years old.
Secondary school pupils are based at the school site in Rutherford St, and the school has primary and intermediate satellite schools running at Concord Primary and Bathgate Park Schools.
Principal Matthew Tofia said the school - which had some buildings dating back to 1926, and others built in the 1960s- had been waiting for an upgrade for a "number of decades".
The announcement was an "incredible win" and a "watershed" for the school.
Mr Hipkins said the school's buildings were in a poor state and badly in need of a major revamp.
Mr Tofia said when he first became principal about a year ago it was embarrassing to show people around.
"I've never seen anything like it. It was in such a dilapidated state."
Thanks to support from the Ministry of Education, particularly the local team, it had been brought up to an acceptable standard, Mr Tofia said.
However, children in wheelchairs still needed to brave the cold on freezing days to get to other rooms, Mr Tofia said.
In addition to the new teaching space he also hoped for a better, more appropriate playground area for the pupils, which the wider special needs community could also use, in contrast to the existing asphalt play area.
"We want Sara Cohen to be at the heart, and at the forefront, of the special needs community in Dunedin," he said.
After-school and holiday programmes already used Sara Cohen's facilities and would continue to use the new building.
Board of trustees chairwoman Sharon Oliver said the upgrade would also allow the school to take on more pupils.
Mr Tofia said that the pupils who attended Sara Cohen had found that mainstream schooling had sometimes "failed them".
Children at the school had a range of special needs.
At the school - which had 40 staff - pupils not only received more intensive teaching and help from a special therapy team but also the chance to be part of a community and make strong friendships.
The school had ties to the University of Otago, particularly the physiotherapy school, and the upgrade would allow Sara Cohen to better use the connections it had.
Anderson's Bay School principal Hamish McDonald said his school was "very pleased" with the announcement it would get a new classroom as it was desperately short of teaching spaces.
Grant's Braes principal Gareth Taylor said the extra classroom was a "welcome surprise".
