By CASEY NEILL
SCHOOLS around Keysborough South are suffering a classroom crush, Parliament has heard from two MPs.
South Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Inga Peulich asked Education Minister James Merlino about the need for primary and secondary schools in the growing area on Tuesday 8 March.
She said primary schools in the Dingley area were experiencing an influx and were overflowing.
“While the area is serviced by some good private schools, there is not enough space in government schools,” Ms Peulich said.
“Certainly there is not one in the Keysborough South area.
“I would call on the Minister for Education to give serious consideration to this and review the latest figures for not only the establishment of a primary school to service the new Keysborough South estates, but also, at the same site, the establishment of a secondary school.
“Obviously there will be an influx of primary school students now, but a few years down the track these children will end up being secondary school students.”
Ms Peulich said the recently-closed Maralinga Primary School site was an option.
South Eastern Metropolitan Region Greens MP Nina Springle also questioned Mr Merlino in Parliament.
“The government recently closed the former Maralinga Primary School site in Keysborough and declared it surplus to requirements,” she said.
“The site is situated in an area where locals face a significant walking distance to get to primary schools and have limited public transport options.
“This was why Maralinga Primary School was opened in the first place.”
Ms Springle said the claim was that Keysborough residents did not need the school.
“But there has been no mention of Noble Park residents,” she said.
“If you live in Jacana Street, Noble Park, for example, you now have a 20-minute walk to any local primary school.”
Ms Springle said the State Government would need to build up to 220 new schools within the next decade to meet demand.
“In the next 15 years the number of children in this former school’s catchment alone – which includes significantly isolated parts of Noble Park – is expected to increase by over 100 students, and that is not accounting for increases in urban density,” she said.
“Given this imminent growth, will the government keep this much-needed school open?”
Keysborough South Action Group spokeswoman Nina Kelly was pleased that momentum was continuing on the campaign for a Prep to Year 12 school in Keysborough South.
“The community patiently waits for the upcoming State Budget, less than seven weeks away,” she said.
“The need for both a new primary and secondary south of the Dandenong Bypass becomes more dire each week as more residents move into the area.
“In the last 12months there has been a 30 per cent increase in school-aged children moving into the new estates of Keysborough.”
