BROADFORD Secondary College will receive an $8 million facelift if the Liberal-Nationals Coalition wins government next month.
Euroa candidates Annabelle Cleeland, Nationals, and Brad Hearn, Liberal, visited Broadford last week to make the election commitment, which they said would help the school keep pace with population growth.
Mr Hearn said education investment was a key priority for him as a professional in the sector.
“I’m incredibly passionate about education – I have three masters degrees and a decade of service working in the profession, and our region is crying out for more investment,” he said.
“This is a really positive step with serious, well-known enrolment pressures across Broadford Secondary College. We urgently need investment in rural townships to ensure children can get a great education close to home.
“Broadford students shouldn’t have to put up with second rate infrastructure just because they’re ignored by government and too far north of Craigieburn.”
Shadow Education Minister David Hodgett said $8 million would help ensure the school met the needs of a growing community.
“The Broadford community is continuing to expand and this is a real solution to ensure students, teachers and families get the support they need to access education locally,” he said.
Member for Euroa Steph Ryan said Broadford Secondary College was already nearing capacity, with prospective students for 2023 unable to enrol from outside its catchment area.
“Broadford Secondary College is bursting at the seams, but it is not even on the Andrews government’s radar,” she said.
“Despite enrolment pressure, Labor hasn’t even agreed to a master plan for the school, let alone funding to begin rebuilding old and tired classrooms.
“Annabelle has been here with me on several occasions to see it firsthand, and I know she shares my passion to make sure the students here are given great facilities.”
Ms Cleeland said she had been ‘shocked’ when she first toured the college earlier this year.
“The growth of Broadford and the school’s impressive reputation means it is bursting at the seams with some classes conducted in hallways and storage rooms,” she said.
“I’ve spoken to the teachers and parents committee who want to demolish the extremely old portables and build a multipurpose gym, which would provide a space for students to get out of the cold during winter.
“I fought for this commitment because our local kids deserve better than what they have been given.”
