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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 1 Hansard (13 February) . . Page.. 41 ..
MR STEFANIAK (continuing):
demountable scheduled to be completed before the end of term 1 would be of an open space design, the school decided that it would place those two classes into that area of the school.
Here is something that Mr Corbell obviously did not know before he shot his mouth off. There is still another classroom vacant at the Gold Creek Primary School site which could accommodate a further 30 students. I repeat: there is a vacant classroom, so space is not a problem, Mr Speaker. The two classes, not one, of Year 1 students have a combined enrolment of 58 students. At the time of the Corbell-generated media frenzy yesterday, there were two teachers teaching that group and there were 51 students present in the classes. That is an average of 25.5 students per class.
Mr Corbell: Well done, Bill.
MR STEFANIAK: Do you like that? That is well below the class average for Year 1 students in the ACT at present, which is around 28 to 30, but it is going to come down with our new initiative provided we get the budget passed. So, Mr Speaker, as I said earlier, let us not get the facts in the way of a good story. I think Mr Corbell should have made an approach to look at the classrooms. He should have spoken to the principal or my office, and the whole matter would not have been a total beat-up and a waste of time for everyone. Also, perhaps, he would not have needlessly concerned some people in the community who might have believed everything that was put in front of them before the facts started coming out.
Mr Corbell: Go and tell that to the parents. You go out there and tell it to the parents.
MR STEFANIAK: Go and have a look at the classrooms. Go and have a chat to the principal, Simon. Go out there and-
Mr Corbell: You go out there and tell that to the parents.
MR STEFANIAK: If any parents have a problem they should see the principal and the teachers. The principal, as I think he said on radio today and on other media last night, has said that the school took that decision for good educational reasons. I respect the ability of our principals and teachers in our system to do that. So, Mr Corbell, go and have a look at it in operation, and next time try to check your facts.
MRS BURKE: I have a supplementary question, Mr Stefaniak. Mr Corbell and some media commentators have suggested, however, that this issue of class sizes at Gold Creek is a breach of the government's commitment to reducing class sizes for our younger schoolchildren. Can the minister advise the Assembly whether the Gold Creek situation is a breach of the government's announced intention to reduce class sizes?
MR STEFANIAK
: No. As I said, nothing could be further from the truth. As I pointed out, there were 51 students there yesterday. The total is 58, which is 29 a class. There are two teachers. Quite clearly, that fits in exactly with the current average of 28 to 30 students that we have currently. The actual number of students is about the level we intend to bring the classes down to next year, that is, 25, so it is wrong of Mr Corbell to claim that we have done a backflip within days. I am sure he
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