Page 2497 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 7 August 1991
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The continued use of two campuses for another year up to 1993 will create further problems amongst students and staff as they continue to operate between the two schools in 1992. Given that the Holder campus population will be 412 in years 7 to 10 and 386 in years 8 to 10, a lot of people may take their children out of the campus altogether. There may well be eight to 10 fewer teaching staff on the Holder campus. Despite this, nearly all the functions carried out by the staff in 1991 will need to continue in 1992. This has to place an increased workload on all the staff at the Holder campus. Combine this with the fact that some of those teachers will need to teach across campuses in order to maintain specialist programs, and a highly stressful environment emerges.
It is imperative that funding be approved by the Follett Government for consolidating the Waramanga campus from the start of the 1992 school year. The expected total enrolments for 1992 - approximately 1,100 - will decrease within a couple of years. I understand that the figure talked about now is 960 in two years' time. The school was originally built to contain more than 1,100. Specialist areas - for example, science, technology, arts, textiles, et cetera - are already sufficient for the number of students. I have had a look over the Stromlo High campus and there is not a lot of work that needs to be done. It still could be done prior to the beginning of 1992, but it must be done to make sure that students in the Weston Creek area have the very best possible education. As to the required funding for all of this, we are talking about approximately $2m. It must be more cost-effective for this funding to be granted now and not for the start of the 1993 year, as by then more money would be necessary for the same result.
I consider that the attitude of the Follett Government towards education in the Weston Creek area has shown a clear lack of concern, a clear lack of interest in proper consultation with the appropriate people - the school community. The Government was happy to listen to the Cook and Lyons school communities. Why not Holder, Waramanga, the Weston Creek school community? The Minister has on many occasions stated that it was essential for the Lyons and Cook school communities to have a decision taken quickly, and that is the path the Government followed. Now they will not give the Weston Creek school community a quick decision.
The second motion passed at the recent public meeting, which, incidentally, was organised by a member of the Labor Party, stated that if the school cannot stay open for five years - and no-one can give that guarantee - then the amalgamation must happen quickly and at the beginning of 1992. Why the procrastination? To be fair to the students - after all, they are the ones to whom consideration should be given; perhaps the Minister and his Government have forgotten that - it is essential that the
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