Dear Editor,
On behalf of the stunned and confused parents, teachers and others who are still wondering how the selection of a secondary school option to build a ‘one size fits all’ public school for 3,000 students on one site came about, here’s an explanation. This is based on information available on the internet and also the many documents recently obtained by local individuals through Freedom of Information (FOI).
In August 2017, prior to the community being able to see and comment on options, a local group called the Education System Design Group met to determine a preferred model. This preferred model was forwarded to the local Strategic Advisory Committee for endorsement. Having been worked out previously, the preferred option was then included in the four options put forward to the community.
In September 2017, members of the Greater Shepparton community were invited to see and comment on the only four options available. These were:
Option 1: Keep the 4 government secondary schools and continue to operate separately with no improvements. (That’s hardly an option when people were asked to decide on future schooling for their children)
Option 2: Same as Option One with only minor improvements (Similar lack of investment situation as Option 1)
Note that there was no option to select a model which retains the current benefits of keeping our 4 locally based schools and receive significant investment from the State Government in buildings and programs for each school, which is what the Government is currently doing with the five Bendigo Secondary School campuses. (The Bendigo Education Plan notes the importance of keeping schools in local neighbourhoods.)
Option 3: Four schools merge to become one school on one campus and have brand new school facilities including a Tech School. (There was also a promise of new programs and new subjects, some of which are not new and have been running at the current four schools for many years.)
Option 4: Same as Option 3 but with 2 campuses. ( This Option could at least have provided an upgraded secondary school for Mooroopna, which stands to be disadvantaged both socially and economically by having none at all)
There was no mention in the options of the unpopular 2-year minimum Transition phase, which is already causing significant strains on students and their families.
Records show that problems flagged by parents, teachers and others with Options 3 and 4 were definitely raised during consultation. These were not taken sufficient notice of during the consultation and, as a result, these problems are now a growing reality. The merger is already rife with problems.
Despite the real choice being only 2 pre-determined merger options and with no other options allowed to be discussed, the author of the final report on which further action was to be based had the audacity to state that there was ‘overwhelming’ support for the merger of our 4 local secondary schools on to one site. Do the words ‘dodgy’ and ‘railroaded’ come to mind for you?
There is no reason why the proposed $100 million investment for the one site could not be used to improve the four current schools by investing $25 million in each. People will then get their local schools back and have much needed education improvements as well. Changes to the current ‘one size fits all’ model are urgently needed.
Yours sincerely
Jenny Houlihan (former Greater Shepparton councillor and Mayor)
