The push for a public secondary school in Kilmore is still in progress, with residents wanting affordable and closer schooling options in the community.
Last year, resident Jesse Coombe organised a petition which saw the Kilmore community rally for a much-needed public secondary school, especially after the Colmont School closure in 2022.
For Mr Coombe and his family, the responsibility to get to school falls on his daughter, who travels lengthy distances – a reality Mr Coombe said he could not find ‘acceptable for such a young child’ to receive an education.
“You’ve got children travelling far distances to get an education and I don’t see how that’s acceptable from the Education Department, when children are struggling to maintain their school and … their grades,” he said.
“Every child should have a school nearby in the vicinity.”
Students living in Kilmore are zoned to either Broadford Secondary College or Wallan Secondary College, but both schools are nearing capacity.
“I don’t understand how we get overlooked with the number of children and the number of families we’ve got coming here, and it’s clearly sustainable with how many children that are going to our primary schools, that are forced to go out of our town to get an education,” Mr Coombe said.
Among the travelling, Mr Coombe said another issue of not having a public secondary school in Kilmore was the lost connections between students once they transition to high school.
“Then the stress of moving from primary school to high school, and you don’t even have that support of your good friend because you obviously live in a different part of Kilmore, which is another thing that’s massive,” he said.
“I think we should have our own high school so they can keep their relationships going.”
Beyond the petition, Mr Coombe has contacted the Victorian School Building Authority several times about plans for a public school, but his concerns have ‘fallen on deaf ears’.
“Obviously [there] was a great deal of pushing, a lot of support from Annabelle Cleeland, and there was nothing … the Government didn’t take action when it was the perfect opportunity to give all the residents, the families of Kilmore, their own public school,” he said.
“If we can get enough attention, and enough voices, you hope that we’re heard, but sometimes it feels pointless, it doesn’t feel like anything, and you don’t like to think that’s the case. You still like to have hope and think that’s going to change.”
Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland put questions to the Minister for Education earlier this year about the need for a public secondary school in Kilmore, and has previously shared support for community-led petitions, calling on the State Government to build a school.
“Everyone deserves an education close to their home but students in Heathcote and Kilmore are forced into travelling between 45 minutes and an hour each morning to get to school,” she said.
“We have seen petitions started by members of the local communities receive significant attention, yet residents in these towns are still unable to get a straight answer from this Labor Government.
“I will continue to advocate for our towns to ensure that locals can access the best education options close to their home. It is time to listen to the community and provide these towns with a public education.”
A Department of Education spokesperson said there were no immediate plans for construction of a government secondary school but were continuing to review data in the Kilmore area.
“While there are no immediate plans for the construction of a government secondary school in Kilmore, we are continuing to review demographic and other data in the Kilmore area as part of its statewide planning for where future schools could be built,” they said.
To view Mr Coombe’s petition, visit www.change.org/p/kilmore-high-school.
Kilmore do need a secondary school but it need to a purpose built one that cover high and tech school classes not the old college building that is there now that would not suit the purpose as it would most likely need a lot of work on it to bring it up to today education standards