Tuesday, 21 February 2023

Warrandyte electorate schools

Ryan SMITH (Warrandyte) (19:08): (45) Tonight I wish to raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Education, and the action I seek is for the minister to ensure that adequate funding is provided in the 2023–24 budget for Warrandyte electorate schools, particularly Warrandyte High School, Donvale Primary School and Beverley Hills Primary School.

The Warrandyte electorate is very spoiled when it comes to education choices. From Doncaster Gardens to Chirnside Park, the length and breadth of the electorate has outstanding schools with welcoming classrooms and communities, though, through no fault of their own, parents, students and staff are at a disadvantage. I have stood in this place budget after budget seeking adequate and much-needed capital funding for schools in my electorate, but I have been continually ignored by this Labor government. During the 2022 election campaign I was proud to announce that a successful Liberal government would have invested in three very well-deserving schools, which included $4.5 million to modernise Donvale Primary School, $4.5 million to upgrade and modernise Beverley Hills Primary School and $4.4 million to help fund and deliver stage 2 of Warrandyte High School’s master plan – over $13 million for my local schools.

In stark contrast, Labor committed nothing, just as they did in the last state budget. Donvale Primary is a fantastic school, but its buildings date back 40-odd years, still have asbestos – something that this government promised to remove – and are in need of major modernisation. In just one example, the main building continually needs patch jobs on the previous patch jobs to stop water leaking. The constant battle to fix the roof starves the school of much-needed maintenance funding to fix or combat future maintenance issues around the school. I have brought up the funding needs of this school no less than 12 times in this place and wrote to the previous education minister numerous times, all to no avail. It is hard to understand why.

Warrandyte High School, a school which was lucky enough to receive funding in the 2021–22 budget, is still needing major funding to continue its modernisation. My commitment to the school would have allowed for the upgrade of 20 classrooms, refurbishment of the basketball stadium, new theatre lights and seating, new toilets and the removal of the water treatment plant. For the only state high school in its immediate area, this continued upgrade in line with its master plan is instrumental in allowing the school to grow and prosper.

I recently visited Beverley Hills Primary School, another outstanding school which has seen an influx of an additional 60 students this year, pushing the school’s total to 750 students. Credit must be given to the principal and the school’s teachers for making Beverley Hills a top choice in Doncaster East. Again, the one thing missing from the school is modern facilities. School buildings date back 64 years and once again are still filled with asbestos needing to be replaced. Teachers and admin staff cannot even run air conditioning throughout the whole school, as this will lead to power failures. In fact a noisy generator has had to be installed to help power the demountable classrooms. This is a school that I have again raised multiple times with the government in this place, citing numerous concerns raised by the school and the need for capital investment.

I have outlined to the house three schools that are in need of major capital funding. I would hope that this minister has a long-term vision to understand that these schools in the Warrandyte electorate need and deserve attention in the upcoming budget, and I implore the minister to meet with these schools and ensure that adequate funding is provided in the 2023–24 budget.