Class quandary

By Ed Merrison
THE Basin Primary School needs a square deal to escape a vicious circle.
School council members say they are watching their school slide into the past as neighbouring schools move forward because of a State Government funding loophole.
The school, which has a large number of small classrooms built in the 1960s, cannot qualify for a major upgrade because it is deemed to have more rooms than necessary to house its 260 students.
Many of the classrooms are barely large enough to house the students, while others are not used because of their state of disrepair.
School council president David Wright and his predecessor, Angela Pickering-Wheat, said it was difficult to get enrolments without funding, and impossible to get funding without enrolments.
They said this placed the school in a Catch-22 situation.
“We’re penalised because of the bad facilities we have and that means we can’t get better facilities,” Ms Pickering-Wheat said.
“It’s really hard to get enrolments when your facilities aren’t as nice as everyone else’s.”
The school has leaking roofs, old paintwork and uneven asphalt surfaces, but it is not just the appearance of the school that is causing concern.
The State Government has introduced a new Building Futures program to ensure new school buildings are designed according to modern teaching practices.
But The Basin’s ineligibility for funding means it may be losing a competitive edge to neighbouring schools in this regard as well.
“All this was built without computers in mind,” Mr Wright said.
“We’ve got 21st century technology and teaching methods while the (classroom) shells are stuck in the ‘60s.”
Ms Pickering-Wheat complained that Physical Resources Management System (PRMS) audits conducted by the State Government had also failed to address the school’s needs.
The audits, which identify and rank maintenance needs, found hundreds of problems at The Basin in 2000-01, but not a single item was funded.
The school successfully appealed for a re-audit in 2002 and funds paid for repairs to a roof, some asphalt areas and the replacement of another roof that did not meet building standards.
A 2005 PRMS audit found about 300 fixable items but only five were fixed at a cost of $15,000.
“They spend all this money on auditing the school and applying measures, so you’d think they’d use the audit to fund things in the next financial year,” she said. “Things that don’t get fixed are still a problem, they just (become) an older problem.” Monbulk MP James Merlino said he had recently met with The Basin school principal Graeme Russell and understood the school’s needs.
“I will continue to work with the school, the region and minister regarding current and future facilities issues,” he said.
But Mr Wright said the issue was simple – the school has been neglected and needs more money.
“Our school is at or exceeding state levels academically, we’ve got a professional group of teachers and one of the best sports programs in the area, and we’d like to attract more people to be part of it,” he said.
“That’s very difficult with the condition of the school.”