Reporting on the super school

Dear Editor,

As one of the many who took to the streets on Friday afternoon to protest the amalgamation of four Shepparton colleges, I would like to say how disgusted I am with the tactics of the News and Susanna Sheed’s office to attempt to denigrate a peaceful, honest protest march with suggestions of violence. For leaders of the proposed amalgamation to state that 2000 plus people do not understand the proposals or are simply afraid of change is insulting.

The police stated that the incident at the offices was not associated with the march, no one was aware of the rock throwing and for the News to intimate that these things can happen when people’s emotions are high and they should listen to the proposals, shows how biased they are in their opinion. Objectors have made the effort and are not uninformed, except for the finer details as to how academic results will be improved by this plan, something we would all like to happen. Our local paper needs to correctly reflect the opinions of the people it represents.

This government plans to ignore the voice of 2000 plus parents who are not convinced that nine unwanted 3-storey buildings on a site previously holding 566 students, now to house 2-3000, on a site with no further chance of expansion catering for 2500 with associated travel and parking problems, cultivating a private school image and a new school running system, with funding limited to one year, will guarantee a higher degree of academic output in relation to the state average. This system is not working in the state schools that have submitted, as witnessed by parents’ comments that have already been forced to comply, with threats of no funding to those schools who refuse. Forced amalgamation has been happening stealthily across this state since 2015. (Hannah Driscoll, The Weekly Times, March 17, 2019).

Apart from logistical problems, loss of choice is at the core of most parental discord. There will be a 200% chance increase of possible bullying and disruptive behaviour crowded into one site and probability of losing current subject electives, with no choice of alternate school. 397 VCE students does not guarantee more subject choices and most feel it could be achieved with less disruption than transitioning all students for three to four years, incurring travel distances of 23.4 km twice daily as parents ferry children between 3 locations, losing sibling support, or forced to use costly buses in expensive new, unsuitable, formal uniforms. Especially difficult for the many low socio-economic households, despite allowances they will struggle with increased bus, fuel and uniform expenses.

At best a social experiment from which they expected little opposition, at worst it is the most ill-conceived plan, without substance or proof, I have ever seen with regard to education in this state.

Yours faithfully

Cherril Colleen Jones
Shepparton