School pledge

CRANBOURNE Secondary College will receive a $10 million upgrade if the Labor Party wins the November state election.
The state government hasn’t confirmed if it will match the pledge.
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews, opposition education spokesman James Merlino and Cranbourne MP Jude Perera yesterday (Wednesday) announced the cash for the school’s science and technology wing and new classrooms.
The project would complete stage three of the school’s rebuild.
The previous Labor government provided $8 million for stage one and two modernisation works, which were completed almost five years ago.
Mr Perera said works would start within the first four years of a new state Labor government.
“Cranbourne secondary is a proud and caring school that’s under a lot of pressure and this great announcement will help it do so much more,” he said.
The pledge followed reports of concerns about asbestos disturbance, deteriorating classrooms in the middle school and fears that students were dropping out because of the poor facilities.
School council president Elvira Ritzert said the upgrade would help to keep students in the classrooms and get better jobs.
“You don’t want to have them sitting on the dole, not doing anything,” she said.
“We’ve been waiting for a few years now.
“It was 2004 or 2005 when they finished stage two.
“We really, really need to upgrade the rest of it.”
Ms Ritzert said warning stickers about asbestos had concerned parents and students.
“It would be nice to see it all removed,” she said.
She said new facilities would also help the school keep up with technology advances in science, metalwork and art.
“I’m interested now to see if both sides will offer the funding.
“We need to finish this project.”
A spokeswoman for Education Minister Martin Dixon declined to comment on whether a Coalition government would meet the pledge.
“The Napthine government has invested $191 million in the recent state budget, which includes funding for four new schools in the Casey, Cranbourne and Pakenham area,” she said.
“Whilst Daniel Andrews is only focused on one school in Cranbourne, we are committed to providing funding for four new schools in the area.”
She said the new schools were Cranbourne South West, Casey Central East, Heather Grove, Pakenham South West, and there was $940,000 allocated for Cranbourne West Primary School.
“There are schools whose maintenance needs are greater than the capital funding invested in them in over a decade of Labor,” she said.