By KATH GANNWAY
Labor pledges $2 million school upgrade if elected…
YARRA Junction Primary School will get its $2 million upgrade if a Labor government is elected in November.
Shadow Education Minister and Deputy Leader of the Opposition James Merlino visited the school last week with Eildon candidate Sally Brennan to announce the commitment.
The announcement comes after the school council mounted a campaign earlier this year to get funding for new buildings when its arts building was condemned by the Education Department and other problems with old buildings were identified.
Mr Merlino and Ms Brennan congratulated the school on its persistence and commitment.
“Well done on the campaign and for not accepting what is a second rate solution of portables to replace classrooms and re-blocking and quick fixes,” Mr Merlino said.
“The commitment we’re making today is that if we get elected in 129 days, the Labor Government will give $2 million to the school for permanent buildings.
“That would really finish the school with the BER (classrooms provided by the Federal Government under the Building Education Revolution) and the facilities provided by yourself,” he said.
School Council president Brian Westlake said the $2 million would get the school up to the standard it should be.
“It will give us the properly heated and cooled classrooms that we need, a purpose-built art room and free up our library,” he said.
“This is the result of a campaign that showed that parents would not accept the rubbish that’s been thrown at them over this last decade.”
Parent Emma Harrison said the school needed and deserved to be brought up to an acceptable standard.
“We’ve had nothing from the State Government in terms of funding since 1986.
“We’re a growing community and just because the school is not crumbling down around us doesn’t mean we don’t need work done here, or that we aren’t deserving of funding,” she said.
“Because we are a school community that helps itself, we have been disadvantaged.”
Meanwhile Education Department contractors had been at the school to block up the sinking portables and make other repairs.
Mr Westlake said the work done reinforced the school’s arguments for a substantial upgrade.
“This is what we’ve had thrown at us,” he said pulling away rotting wood supported by a crude timber frame erected earlier in the day.
“You don’t have to be a builder or a structural engineer to see the quality of this repair and it’s typical of what we’ve been given as a result of all our campaigning,” he said.
He said the sinking portables were levelled the previous day with a passing comment by the contractor that it was a problem that would keep happening.
In terms of the time frame for the $2 million investment, should Labor be elected, Ms Brennan and Mr Merlino said Yarra Junction was a priority project.
“There’s no reason why we can’t get to work on this straight away,” Mr Merlino said.
Ms Brennan said that getting a time commitment would be the first thing on her agenda if she was elected as Eildon MP.
“Realistically, we won’t have workmen here on the 1 December, there is a change-over process, but it is my understanding, and also my commitment, that this can’t wait,” she said.
“There is a change-over process but this is not a low priority issue and if I am in there, I will hold him (Mr Merlino) to it.”
