By XAVIER SMERDON
DAMAGED portable classrooms and malfunctioning heating are making a substandard learning environment for students of a Hoppers Crossing school, according to the School Council President.
Noel Moody, who’s four children have all studied at the Grange P-12 College, said the school had the third largest amount of portable classrooms of any school in Victoria.
Mr Moody said the school had been required to fight for everything it had, even spending $380,000 of its own money to erect a fence around the school to stop a spate of vandalism.
“The school was just being vandalised all the time. We had 70 windows broken in one weekend,” Mr Moody said.
“The school and the teachers have done some amazing things over the last five years, but we need a fair go.”
Some of the school’s 27 portable classrooms are so damaged that they would look more at home at a prison, not a school.
The heating system at the school is also so poor that during the last week of last term, the library was four degrees inside.
“It’s just terrible, and they are expecting our kids to learn in that,” Mr Moody said.
“It doesn’t give our school a good image. It just annoys me.”
Mr Moody said he wanted some sort of action from the State Government so that the 1850 students who attend the school could be given the best chance of quality education.
“The school is an eyesore,” he said.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved but there has been no significant infrastructure funding here for the last 20 years.”
He said he had been trying in vain to organise meetings with local politicians, like Member for the Western Metropolitan Region, Andrew Elsbury, who he had been told would not be available for another month.
But Mr Elsbury said the blame should fall on the previous Labor Government as it neglected the school for the last decade.
“I am aware of the issues at The Grange having met with the Principal on several occasions since being elected,” Mr Elsbury said.
“I continue to be a strong advocate for the education need of students across the west including the needs of The Grange College.”
Member for Tarneit, Tim Pallas, said change was needed for the school
“I have seen firsthand the appalling conditions of the school’s facilities. The school is doing everything possible to address the issue; however, the Napthine Government is not providing the funding the school needs to complete the job,” Mr Pallas said.
