Windfall for three Wimmera colleges

Three Wimmera secondary colleges have won a slice of almost $7-million in State Government funding to upgrade and modernise their schools.

The government has allocated $4-million in its 2018-19 budget towards stage one of Stawell Secondary College’s master plan.

Kaniva College has secured $2.3-million in the budget and Dimboola Memorial Secondary College $600,000 towards redevelopment.

The funding is part of a $180-million investment to build and upgrade the state’s schools.

Stawell Secondary College principal Kevin O’neil said the school community was thrilled to receive the funding, which would make a huge difference to the students’ learning environment.

He said students and staff had some input into the project during the masterplan stage, led by Melbourne-based Workshop Architecture.

“The school council has also been involved and everyone is very excited and keen for the project to start,” he said.

“Now that we know what we are going to keep, renovate and build new, we are up to the detailed design work phase. At the moment we have no timelines or understanding of when the work is to start. We’ll probably learn that next term.”

The $4-million will go towards refurbishing the school hall; demolishing the science block and maths and food technology block and building new facilities; constructing a central courtyard; renovating the administration building; and realigning the school’s entrance.

Kaniva College principal Ashley Munn said he was surprised to learn the school would receive $2.3-million.

“We’ve been looking for some funding since we became a P-12 college in 2002, so this is a long time in the making,” he said.

“We haven’t gone into the final details with the education department but I’m anticipating our science and technology areas will be a focus.”

Mr Munn said the funding was not only a blessing for the school’s current students, but would benefit Kaniva and district families for the next 20 to 30 years.

“This funding is a wonderful thing for education in Kaniva and it’s something the community is absolutely rapt about,” he said.

“It’s a great boost for the school and wider community and we look forward to the project getting underway.”

The Victorian School Building Authority will now work with schools to determine the scope of their upgrades and how they can best be delivered.

Education Minister James Merlino said since 2014, the Labor government had invested $775-million in regional school infrastructure.

“No matter where you live in Victoria, students deserve to have a great school. We’re getting on with rebuilding schools across our state to give hard-working families the facilities they deserve,” he said.