By Kerri-Anne Mesner
MELTON Shire Council’s residents in the Burnside Heights area will benefit from a proposal for early childhood facilities to be co-located at the proposed Kororoit Creek Primary School.
The State Government announced at the end of last year that the Kororoit Creek Primary School in Burnside Heights would be one of 11 schools across Victoria to be built under a public-private partnership arrangement.
Melton Shire Council agreed at its meeting on 21 April to enter into a contract and a joint use agreement with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) for an early years/community space at the proposed Kororoit Creek Primary School.
The school is scheduled to be open by 2011 and under the proposed model, the private sector will finance, design and build the school as well as maintain and operate it for 25 years.
The council report says that there had already been expressions of interest in the project and the Education Department was finalising a short list of bidders.
The early learning centre would include facilities for kindergarten services, maternal and child health services, office space and community space.
Under the proposal the council will pay about $170,000 a year for 25 years for the facility to the State Government instead of having to find $2.5 million upfront.
