Page 74 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Amaroo, which started in 2004 with 153 kids and no year 6 and no high school component and now grown to 1,285 students, this new school will continue to grow. Year 7 will move into year 8 and on into year 9 and year 10. The school will continue to grow. We look forward to offering world class education, but we know the position of those opposite who opposed this investment in the first place and who have suggested that any investment in public education is throwing good money after bad.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question from Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, can you tell us why it took so long to notify the parents that the Stanhope Labor government would not keep its promise to open the school at full capacity?
MR BARR: Firstly, the premise in the question is wrong. I need to advise the shadow minister that at no point—
Mrs Dunne: That is not what Julia Gillard said. The Deputy Prime Minister said it would open.
MR BARR: The school will open next year with 761 enrolments, probably more, because by the time we get to February next year—
Mrs Dunne: A preschool to year 10 school is what the Deputy Prime Minister said.
MR BARR: Had there been enrolments of a sufficient level in years 8 to 10 in 2009, that education program would have gone ahead. But there were not. We extended the period to try and get to sufficient numbers until the end of November, but we had advised everyone from the start that if the enrolments were not sufficient—we said we were taking provisional enrolments in years 8 to 10, and did so from the start.
Why did it take so long? It was because we kept the provisional enrolments open for as long as possible to try and get the numbers up to run the full program. Every parent was given advice of provisional enrolment when they approached the school. I have now been advised, on advice from the school principal and the education department, that it is now not appropriate and will not be possible to run an effective education program from years 8 to 10. On that advice provided to me, which is a decision for the school of the department of education, a letter was sent to parents at the end of November—so nearly two and a half weeks ago—advising that years 8 to 10 would not operate.
That is a sensible decision based upon the expressions of interest that have been expressed to enrol in the school. I repeat that no one is suggesting that we try and run an education program with six students in year 10, 21 in year 9 and 23 in year 8. I am sorry and I am disappointed that particularly the year 8 component was not stronger, but I recognise that students are settled into other schools and that those 50 students who have expressed interest in enrolling in Kingsford Smith are already enrolled in other schools, so their places in the ACT public education system are guaranteed at the schools they are currently enrolled in. There were two students who sought to move out of the non-government system into the public system, into this school, and we will very happily accommodate them at another ACT government school.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .