By Michael Newhouse
THREE primary schools in Melbourne’s West are looking to the future this year as they prepare for one of the biggest new school developments the West has seen for years.
The planning for the new super primary school for Melbourne’s West, which will be located in Sunshine East, has been underway since 2004, but the funding for the new school is expected to be ticked off some time this year, with construction likely to start towards the end of 2007.
Last year Sunshine East, Sunvale and Braybrook primary schools agreed the three schools, within 2km of each other, should merge after years of falling enrolments and some ageing school facilities.
Sunshine East Primary School principal Michael West, whose school site will house the brand-new school, which will be built from scratch, said the whole process has had one clear aim: to provide the children with the best facilities and “learning outcomes”.
“The school community, the reaction’s been very positive because they’re aware of the poor facilities in the three schools – obviously that was an issue,” Mr West said last week.
“But, more importantly, it was about how we built a sustainable school with falling enrolments.”
He said the masterplan for the new school had been approved, and that the school councils were waiting for architects to complete the detailed designs, which are likely to be finished by March.
The proposal will then go to the State Government, which will be responsible for approving the funding for the new school’s construction.
“Having gone down to this stage, it will be funded,” Mr West said.
“Whether it will be funded in this budget or the next one I can’t say for sure, but I’m 95 per cent sure that it will be this next budget.”
He said he expected the new school would start operating at the beginning of 2009.
“The political reality is that in order to get the best facilities we probably need to go down this track,” he said.
The latest figures show Sunshine East Primary has almost 180 students enrolled; Sunvale 190; and Braybrook 90 students.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education told Star the department would consider using the empty school sites – 276 Ballarat Rd, Braybrook, and 20 Neil Street, Sunshine – for “other educational purposes” once the new school in Sunshine East had been completed, but said this process would take some time.
If the Department of Education passes on the land, other State Government departments would have the option to buy either of the sites, followed by the local council, the federal government, and, finally, private buyers.
Brimbank City Council said it had not considered buying the Sunvale land, which will be the only available site inside Brimbank, with the Braybrook Primary School site falling just outside the council’s borders.
