By Romy Stephens
Leaking roofs and worn out surfaces will be a thing of the past for numerous Mount Evelyn schools.
The State Government recently announced that three schools in Mount Evelyn would receive Planned Maintenance Program (PMP) funding.
Mount Evelyn Primary School will receive $175,000 for high priority maintenance works on the school’s Shelter in Place building.
The school will also receive $5,000 for high priority maintenance, including ceiling repairs, floor repairs, painting, repairing soffits and surface treatments.
School principal Angie O’Hare said it was a “fantastic” feeling when she found out about the State Government funding.
“It’s wonderful they are actually providing financial support for the maintenance that needs doing in schools because we had anticipated that we would have to find the money to do a lot of it ourselves,” she said.
“As far as learning goes, if the kids are in a comfortable, warm and safe environment that is clean and well maintained I think it’s going to be a happier place to be.”
Birmingham Primary School will also receive $65,000 for high priority maintenance works while Yarra Ranges Special Developmental School will receive $120,000.
The funding announcement was an added bonus for the three schools off the back of all students returning to the classroom on 9 June.
Ms O’Hare said a majority of Mt Evelyn Primary School students had settled back in “beautifully” and that the school had learnt lots from remote learning.
She said the school would continue with some of the online initiatives such as parent teacher interviews, which had typically seen low attendance rates in the past.
“If parents have an option of either logging in and meeting or coming into school maybe that will increase the uptake,” she said.
“We’re hoping that will make a difference because parents have been pretty connected with the school through remote learning.
“One of the real positives that the teachers took away from this was that teachers feel they have a much stronger relationship with the families.”
The State Government’s PMP provides funding for vital maintenance activities based on need.
A new evaluation system was introduced in 2018 to provide more precise information on the condition of school infrastructure and create timely and targeted allocation of PMP funding.
The three Mount Evelyn schools are among 78 state schools across the state to share in $5.94 million PMP funding.
