The Education Minister has assured Parliament the old school sites of Mooroopna Secondary College, McGuire College and Wanganui Park Secondary College will not be sold off.
The news came just two weeks after Deputy Leader of the Nationals Steph Ryan sought a guarantee of that very nature from the Minister.
The controversial super school project and amalgamation of four public schools in the Greater Shepparton region, was marketed as the solution to improving public educational outcomes in the area.
The decision not to sell of sites is the first admission from the Minister that Labor’s decision to amalgamate the schools without community consultation was not going as planned.
Ms Ryan said the shift in the government’s position was a win but only a change of government would deliver a different solution.
“This is a clear back down from the Andrews Government which forced this school merger on the Shepparton community with no real consultation,” Ms Ryan said.
“The Shepparton and Mooroopna communities warned the government that a one size fits all approach was short sighted and should have been listened to in the first place.”
“Labor must now actually listen to the community about the future of old school sites rather than imposing their dictates from 200km away.”
Ms Ryan said only the Victorian Nationals had a plan to engage and advocate for the Shepparton community.
“No one is pretending there is an easy solution, but we know it’s simply not acceptable to cram 2700 kids in a small space and walk away,” Ms Ryan said.
“We raised our concerns about Labor’s plan from day dot and will continue to work with the Shepparton and Mooroopna communities rather than against them.
“A city-centric government simply can’t be trusted to work with regional communities.
“We will continue to advocate for community consultation and a Shepparton education plan everyone can get behind.”