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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 8 Hansard (25 October) . . Page.. 1977 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

The options that were offered to this school were first raised in September when the school was notified that five of its staff were to go, 21/2 of whom were supplementary staffing. All schools lose staff, all schools face declining numbers and all schools face changes, but the dramatic change that was wrought in September has had very sad and serious consequences for Charnwood which this Government has refused to take seriously or consider the impact of. The school was offered four options and there was a consultation committee formed to look at those four options.

The first option was that Years 7 and 8 be amalgamated and Years 9 and 10 be amalgamated, so that the school could then operate with two major groupings of classes rather than four - a very sensible way to cope with declining numbers, a very sensible way to cope with declining teacher numbers. But could the option be even explored? No; it was killed before it even began, because you cannot begin to teach in 1996 without a curriculum and without a program. When the school community committee began to look at that option it was a non-option. They needed time, they needed staff and they needed support to look at that option fully and to prepare a program to begin. Was that offer listened to; was that concern listened to? No. So that option was gone.

Option No. 2 was to investigate the possibility of amalgamating with a local primary school - a very sensible option. We see that option working in other places in K to Year 10 schools. We have one at least in the ACT. But, again, you cannot, in October 1995, say, "Oh, what a good idea! Let us keep Charnwood High School open by amalgamating with a primary school, and let us just open in 1996". What a nonsense! What a ridiculous option to put up with no support, no planning, no staffing, no thought, no curriculum, no negotiation, no investigation! What a fraud! What a duplicitous fraud was put on this community. Two options out of the four that were offered were completely non-viable. It had to be operational by the beginning of 1996.

Option No. 3 was to amalgamate with Ginninderra High School. What a nice idea! Lovely! Suddenly a nice, well-run, comfortable, good school of 200 or 300 students was to be lost in a new school. Was that option padded with any support? Was that option offered with extra counselling, extra support, extra staffing, and some sort of transfer process? Good heavens, no. Bye-bye, Charnwood High School! Go and lose yourselves in Ginninderra High School; but of course you remain as a school, because all of a sudden you are an enclave in Ginninderra High. I have no qualms that Ginninderra High would have treated them extremely well, and that they may well have a very good time there; but that is not the point. The point is that this Government set up a third option which was not viable, not thought through, and not in any way in the best interests of the students and the community.

The fourth option was a cold-blooded, "Close the school". Thank you very much! What about the families that have more than one child at the school and suddenly have to put them on buses? What about the families that simply do not have access to buses in any readiness? What about the families that do not have any transport? What about the families that are genuinely concerned - which they are - about losing their community school, the centre of their community, their building, their place, their fields? The school has a lot more to do with life than just being there from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm.

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