A letter to parents of Budawang School students has outlined waiting lists for families and has called for community support to lobby for a bigger school.
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One of the new locations proposed for the school is the former Shoalhaven Anglican School site on Croobyar Road, Milton.
The Anglican school site has been the focus of a petition calling for the property to be purchased by the NSW Government for a second high school.
The letter, dated Friday, June 29, calls on parents to back the school in lobbying the state government for a new purpose-built facility to meet its growing needs.
Sent by the school’s P&C, the letter claims all special education classes in the town are “full or close to full”.
“The current school infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose and it has become increasingly challenging for staff to provide education and care to the standard we have come to expect for out children,” it states.
Related content: Hancock to pursue second high school for Milton Ulladulla
The school is urging the NSW Government to name it in the 2019/20 State Budget as a priority building project.
One of the options outlined in the letter is for the Department of Education to keep its land on Garside Road, Mollymook, and build a new Budawang School at the location.
“We recommend eight classrooms plus change rooms, dining areas, administrative zones, a library kitchen, multipurpose space, and adequate space for counsellors, therapists and clinics,” the letter reads.
“The new school would operate as a fully autonomous setting with its own principal, administrative staff, grounds maintenance person and school counsellor.”
The second option proposed in the letter is for the former Shoalhaven Anglican School to be modified to meet the needs of students with special needs.
The school could be transformed for Budawang students in a “cost effective manner”, the letter reads.
“This option should be explored as an alternative option [to Mollymook],” it states.
“Any extra facilities [on the Milton site] could be used by other schools depending on need.”
The letter explains the school has been “growing at a rate that requires almost all families” to wait for a place to become available before their child can attend. That means students either have to spend time at a school that is not equipped to meet their needs, or they remain at home.
“This causes enormous hardship for families and students in need,” it read.
In 2016 an independent feasibility study was initiated by the Department of Education to find a solution to schools on the South Coast nearing capacity.
“We were told that the results of the feasibility study would be considered along with feasibility studies from other schools in the state, and if our [Budawang] school was to be found a priority, we would be named in the 2017 State Budget. We were not named,” the letter reads.
Emily Barton
Emily Barton is a Producer at The Canberra Times.
Emily Barton is a Producer at The Canberra Times.
