Schools doomed, even if spared: parents
Elizabeth Bellamy - Canberra Times
Education Minister Andrew Barr has conceded some of the 39 schools on the Government’s closure “hit list” may be spared, but parents fear the public naming of schools will spell an early death sentence for some.
Of the 39 targeted for closure, 22, including 14 preschools and eight primary schools, are listed to shut by year’s end.
The Government has stressed it will consult the community on the proposal, outlined in last week’s budget, for a mandatory six months before a final decision is made.
However, ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations president Jane Gorrie said the timing of the plan meant parents at the schools listed to close this year would opt to avoid uncertainty and enrol their children elsewhere ahead of the decision.
Even if they were spared, the public naming of schools had long-term implications.
“As soon as you name a school and say it’s potentially going to close next year or the year after that, even if it doesn’t close, it puts a school back,” she said yesterday.
“Parents say, ‘I’m not sending my children to that school because it might close. If not this time, then in the next round of closures’.”
However, Mr Barr defended yesterday his listing of schools.
“Many of these schools have some big question marks over them, they have for some time.
“If a local community doesn’t support its local school, and if that doesn’t change, then the community have already voted.”
He said he would consider alternative proposals as part of the consultation process.
However, Greens MLA Deb Foskey said communities in wealthier and more highly educated areas would be better able to defend their schools.
“It’s usually the parents who are able to get organised, who’ve got a bit of education, who know how the system works. It doesn’t mean the very best decision is made in the end,” she said yesterday.
Students at Kambah High, which, with Dickson College is one of the schools listed to close, will boycott classes tomorrow morning to protest against the plan, while the Save Dickson College group will present a petition of more than 2000 signatures to the ACT Legislative Assembly this week.
But Mr Barr said he would not be persuaded by large-scale campaigns.
“It’s not the loudness of a particular case and it’s not the sheer number of people who send me emails or petitions, it’s about the quality of the argument,” he said.
“I will be most swayed in my consultation round by the most intelligent, rational arguments the community can put forward.”
The Government is seeking to shut 39 schools - 22 preschools, 15 primary schools, Kambah High and Dickson College - in a three-year plan that would save $34million, citing low enrolments, changing demographics and above-average education costs in the ACT.
It is also proposing to change the structure of some schools, offering parents the choice of up to nine age configurations, including preschool to Year 10, and Year 6-10 options.
However, Opposition education spokeswoman Vicki Dunne said the effects of the Government’s plan would be widespread, with only 17 out of 182 public schools untouched.
While some closures were necessary, “this is a wholesale ripping apart of the school system”, she said yesterday.
In the week since the proposal was announced, school communities have mobilised to produce petitions, launch websites and organise rallies and crisis meetings.
However, some say the plan is pitting school against school, with some parents yesterday reluctant to reveal campaign strategies for fear it would give other schools a competitive advantage.
At Kambah High tomorrow, several hundred students will boycott early morning classes to protest against the changes.
Meanwhile, Dickson College parents and students will present a petition containing thousands of signatures to the Assembly this week.
Parents will meet at Giralang Primary at 7pm today, and in a closed gathering at Flynn Primary from 6.30pm.
Kambah High will hold a parents’ meeting on June 19 at the school from 7pm, and Dickson College on June 22 from 7.30pm.
For details of the Government’s plan and dates of public consultation meetings, visit www.decs.act.gov.au/2020/index.htm
Tell us what your school is doing to fight closure plans. Email media.release@canberratimes.com.au or phone 62802211.