BY DYLAN DE JONG 

Students and leaders at a rural Wimmera-Mallee school are ‘disappointed’ after the school missed out on funding from the State Government’s latest construction blitz. 

Hopetoun P-12 College school council president Jamie Frankel was among parents frustrated to see the school miss out on the government’s $2.7-billion blitz for ‘shovel-ready’ projects.

He said school leaders were desperate to see a start on ‘vital upgrades’ to classrooms, which are more than 50 years old. 

Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell, who has shown continued support for the school, plans to bring forward a review of the college as State Parliament resumes this week. 

Mr Frankel estimated the school would require $1-million to upgrade its ‘sub-standard’ food technology and science classrooms.

He said it was ‘frustrating’ the State Government had again overlooked the rural school, which had remained largely untouched since 1964. 

“It’s disappointing because we’re trying to give our kids the best chance we can and we’re dealing with sub-standard equipment and classrooms with our food technology room and science facilities,” he said. 

“We keep getting overlooked. Those needs should be just as important for the smaller schools as they are for the bigger ones.

“The facilities in the two tech rooms are likely 50 years old, with stoves and equipment that were probably there when some of the kids’ grandparents went to the school.”

Mr Frankel said school leaders felt their voices were unheard after more than five years of lobbying the State Government to address issues including outdated equipment and mice infestations.

“It’s not through lack of trying, we’ve got a great group at the school. If things need doing, we get things done. But regarding those rooms, that’s a government responsibility,” he said. 

“We’ve sent letters and correspondence to the education department and all we get back is standard generic responses.

“Don’t forget about our small country schools. 

“We are no less important than the schools in the city.”

After a visit to the school last year, Ms Lovell marked upgrading the college a top priority. 

She said it was ‘a slap in the face’ for the college to miss out on State Government money. 

“The State Government has been fairly dismissive of the issue, and clearly Hopetoun has been not been on the radar,” she said.

“Every child in Victoria deserves access to good quality facilities for their education.”

Ms Lovell said she believed the government needed to make the college a priority. 

“It shouldn’t take a long time to plan. If there’s a will, there’s a way to get it done,” she said.

“If there was a will for this government to do this project, they would have it going in this calendar year. 

“I’ll be doing everything I can to represent the school’s interest in parliament.” 

Victorian education minister James Merlino said schools were selected for funding based on creating jobs to support the economy.

“The schools funded as part of the school building blitz were selected because they could get underway as soon as possible – delivering local jobs and supporting local businesses,” he said. 

“We know there are many other schools requiring additional works and these will also be considered as part of the normal budget process.”

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