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Title : Victoria touts super-school merger as 'revolutionary', but parents think it's a disaster
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Victoria touts super-school merger as 'revolutionary', but parents think it's a disaster

Related Story: So many students, so few teachers: Victoria's education dilemma

Related Story: 'Extra work' ahead for schools merger plan

Parents in northern Victoria fear a plan to amalgamate four public high schools into a single regional 'super-school' will disrupt an entire generation of students.

Key points:

• A plan to merge four high schools in regional Victoria is being opposed by some community members
• They fear the 'super-school' plan will damage student outcomes and may end up in funding limbo
• Education minister says budget details will be forthcoming, and that the government will "finish what it started"

The Victorian Government has touted the Shepparton Education Plan as 'revolutionary' for country education, but many community members are concerned that students' needs will not be met.

The merger has also posed important questions around funding, with the government thus far committing less than $20.5 million to an estimated $100m project.

"It has to be fully funded if you are only giving us one school for this area," Shepparton mother of three Robyn Boschetti said.

Parents worried about funding, diversity and impact

In 2017, the Victorian Government allocated $20.5m towards the Shepparton Education Plan.

The plan included a merger of Shepparton and Mooroopna's four public high schools, Shepparton High School, Wanganui Park Secondary College, Mooroopna Secondary College and McGuire College, to form one single-campus secondary school by 2022.

It also included the development of an Integrated Children's Centre in Mooroopna.

From next year, students will be uprooted from their existing school campuses and dispersed across three sites as contractors work to upgrade the current Shepparton High School site.

The new school will be designed around a series of learning centres or 'houses' of about 300 students from years 7 to 12.

Ms Boschetti feared the size of the school, which is expected to house more than 2500 students, would lead to students' individual needs being ignored.

She launched a petition, which currently has thousands of signatures, and helped organise a rally last week calling on the state government to abandon the plan.

"The community of Shepparton don't want this," Ms Boschetti said.

"Parents are leaving, they're already looking at other schools to take their children out of Shepparton."

'We're going to finish what we started'

Victorian Education Minister James Merlino hit back at claims Greater Shepparton College had been underfunded.

When questioned over how much money had been allocated towards the school, Mr Merlino said he could not recall, but believed "around five or six million" would go towards the children's centre and the rest to the Shepparton 'super-school'.

He also said it was unclear how much the entire project would cost.

"It will require future budget investments," Mr Merlino said.

"I can't give you precise figures because that's exactly the process we're going through now with detailed design, documentation, but it will be a significant figure.

"We didn't start this project to stop mid-way through.

"We're going to finish what we started."

Future funding for school crucial

The vice-president of the secondary sector of the Australian Education Union's Victorian Branch, Marino D'Ortenzio, fears that if the project misses out on funding in the 2020-'21 budget, students and teachers will be left in the lurch.

"If it's not provided in next year's budget then there'll be some serious questions to ask around whether or not this is actually a priority of the state government or not," Mr D'Ortenzio said.

Other regional schools across the state, including Benalla P-12, Echuca Specialist School, Warracknabeal school and Hamilton's Baimbridge College have also waited years for projects or upgrades to be completed and experienced budget cuts, leaving many students in half-finished schools.

Parents do not want to see the Shepparton project go down a similar path.

Deakin University academic Emma Rowe said there were many benefits to the super-school model which placed it in higher stead for funding and generated more resources due to a higher population.

But she also said there was no evidence to suggest that the model would lead to better outcomes.

"It's a tricky one to measure because having more resources does not automatically guarantee better results," Ms Rowe said.

"But the schools that generally do perform well are always well resourced."

'Successful' merger came with controversy

In 1994, in Moe and Newborough in the state's east, the three high schools in the town, —Moe High School, Newborough High School and Yallourn Secondary College — merged.

Initially they combined at an administrative level, but then they amalgamated on one campus, now known as Lowanna College.

Retired Moe High School teacher, Graeme Nicholls, described the process as "successful", but says it took a while to ease parents', staff and students' concerns.

"It wasn't without controversy," Mr Nicholls said.

"The new facilities we got were state of the art facilities … we were able to offer far more choice.

"There was a lot of advantages in it, but you certainly had to look after and handle the issues of the bigger size."

Fifteen years of funding limbo

In the Western Victorian town of Warracknabeal, the community has been fighting for funding for an educational precinct for 15 years.

The Victorian Government approved initial works for the precinct — which plans to amalgamate three schools — but the community feels it has been left with an unfinished project.

Parent and former student of Warracknabeal Primary School Kate Liersch said students had been dealing with cracks in walls, poorly lit rooms and damp, sagging ceilings.

"Based on our experience here, I'd be very concerned that there wasn't at least a funding plan moving forward or a concrete confirmation of funding," Ms Liersch said.

"You'd want to have that confirmed before you commence.

"You could end up in the same situation we are, with unfinished schools and no way forward."

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