By CASEY NEILL
DANDENONG High students are missing out on support to find employment because work to complete its transformation from three schools to one remains unfunded.
Principal Susan Ogden said the school didn’t receive the $15 million needed to complete its vision in the State Budget.
“I am disappointed, the school community is disappointed,” she said.
“The stage three build will be finished in about eight weeks, but we’re still waiting for stage four funding.”
Dandenong High School, Cleeland Secondary College and Doveton Secondary College officially merged in 2007 to become the new Dandenong High.
But the school is still waiting on an arts, design and technology wing, senior specialist spaces, a future pathways centre and a canteen.
“For us it’s a critical issue because it will mean that innovative learning model will be complete,” Ms Ogden said.
“It will be able to run and function as it was designed to in our school vision.
“The specialist facilities will support our senior students in their pathways learning.
“Some of our core work at the moment too is about building partnerships and relationships with industry.
“Some of the stage four spaces are designed particularly to support this work.”
The project would include demolition of the disused Cleeland Secondary College site.
“It’s also important for the community because our ovals can be shared by Dandenong North Primary School, which has limited space,” Ms Ogden said.
Chandler Park Primary principal Peter Paul is still reeling after his school missed out on $5.7 million to complete a merger with Maralinga Primary that started five years ago.
“That means we would bring every child onto the Chandler campus,” he said.
“They would relinquish the Maralinga site so the government gets the site back.”
The school board met last Tuesday to discuss a course of action.
“There was shared disappointment with parents,” Mr Paul said.
“We will have further discussions about the appropriate actions that need to be taken.
“We would hope that there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.”
He said discussions with the Education Department “need to be had”.
“We do like to think that we could get a reasoned outcome,” he said.
“I think that would be in the interests of the children, the community, staff and parents.”
The Journal last week reported that Keysborough College was waiting on about $30 million to complete a redevelopment that also started five years ago.
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Martin Dixon said the budget delivered $1.6 billion for education as well as $500 million to build 12 new schools and upgrade more than 70 existing schools.
