THE State Education Department will be asked to assess the possibility of building a public secondary school in the southern end of the City of Maribyrnong.
Councillors carried a motion last Tuesday that council write to the Department of Education and Employment Training requesting it to assess whether changed population trends would support a secondary school in the Yarraville, Kingsville and Seddon area.
Councillor Michael Clarke said if that department refused to take responsibility for the assessment, the council would then consider undertaking its own study at a cost of $44,000.
The suggestion is included in a report by council officers, which was presented to the councillors at last week’s meeting.
The report found that three of the four state secondary schools in the municipality were running under capacity but councillors said they believed that this was expected to change soon.
Reasons given for the change included Maribyrnong Secondary School becoming an elite sporting school, which would increase its student population.
Councillors also believed the housing boost in the municipality would result in more families with teenage children moving into the area, requiring secondary schools.
The report highlighted the need to ask Education Department to investigate the needs of residents in the southern end of the municipality.
The report stated: “The (council’s) data does not indicate where children in the south attend school or whether they would attend a local secondary school if it were available.”
