Mornington Special Developmental School: facilities
02-June-2011
Mr BURGESS (Hastings) -- I wish to raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Education. The action I seek is for the minister to meet with representatives of the Mornington Special Developmental School to secure the future of this very important school.
The Mornington SDS serves a significant part of my region, with children being drawn from right across the peninsula. This important school has been housed entirely in relocatable buildings for almost 24 years. The Mornington SDS is currently located on Robertson Drive, Mornington. For some years there has been a plan to relocate the school to a new site in Hastings, where land has been allocated. Since this decision was made by the previous government the school has been left in an untenable situation with no access to funding. It is unable to even access funds for routine maintenance.
I initially contacted the Department of Education in 2009 in regard to this matter, and I was informed that the funding announcement was yet to be made by the then government and there was likely to be a 12-month construction phase once the funding had been announced. Because the school was supposed to be relocated, the state government would not provide it with the necessary funding. For the very same reason the school was not eligible for other funding grants, such as the federal government's Building the Education Revolution program, South East Water's water conservation programs, the National Solar Schools program, the Schools Water Efficiency program, the Green Vouchers for Schools water tanks program and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program.
The current site has no opportunity for expansion, and the school is operating without the necessary amenities of an art room, multipurpose room, library, therapist rooms and food technology facilities, which are all vital to the implementation of the educational program required for children with special needs.
I commend the great work this school does in serving the needs of its students under such difficult conditions. This is a very special school for very special kids which for many years has been treated very badly, and I ask the minister to meet with the school's representatives to secure its future.