Swift’s Creek P-12 College has been dealt a blow by the State Government, having been advised via telephone on the eve of Christmas of the planned removal of four portable classrooms (30% of the school’s facilities), one of which is the school library.

The reason provided for the removal was due to the government policy of having all asbestos removed from school buildings by 2020.

Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull said “no one would argue with the basis of the policy to remove asbestos from our schools, but to have a school told it is losing 30% of its buildings, without consultation, is not acceptable. Especially when it has done all of its planning for next year”.

“The policy was about removing asbestos, not removing all buildings containing asbestos without replacement and leaving schools without essential facilities.

“When this policy was announced it spoke of providing replacement facilities, but Swift’s Creek has been told this is not an option as its enrolment numbers do not warrant replacement buildings.

“However, this is a decision that has clearly been made in Melbourne as anyone who visited the site would know these buildings are utilised and needed.

Mr Bull said the school council has every reason to be upset with this decision, as the classrooms earmarked for removal include the school library, VCE common room, exam centre and VCAL room.

“The school council is supportive of the asbestos removal, however, they don’t believe it should be done at the expense of student learning outcomes and nor do they believe students at the college are under immediate threat from asbestos, which has been in the school buildings for many years.

“Swift’s Creek P-12 has a great record of student achievements and punches well above its weight when it comes to student outcomes, so the structure of this should not be decimated on the eve of a new school year.

“When announcing the original policy the Victorian Education Minister said, ‘you can’t get a first-rate education in a second-rate classroom’. I would argue that you can’t get an education without classrooms at all.

“I would hope the Minister reconsiders this decision to remove classrooms from the school and if it is to be done, they should be replaced with new buildings.”