By CASEY NEILL
CLASSROOMS at two new Cranbourne schools will be open for term one in 2017 – and full soon after.
Premier Daniel Andrews visited the Casey Central East Primary School site next to Arbourlea Family and Children’s Centre in Cranbourne North on Wednesday 2 September to announce the opening date.
Cranbourne South West in Cranbourne West and Heather Grove in Clyde North will also welcome students for 2017.
City of Casey mayor Mick Morland said the news was fantastic because nearby schools were bursting at the seams.
He said the classrooms would soon be at their 475-student capacity.
“We’re bringing in about 15,000 people over the next two years,” he said.
“We’ll fill the schools as soon as they build them.
“We have 80,000 people under the age of 18 in our city.”
Mum Nicole Devey was at the announcement.
She drives her son Jack, 5, to Hillsmeade Primary School in Narre Warren South and is eagerly awaiting Casey Central East’s opening.
“He’d be able to walk or ride his bike every day,” he said.
And Jack was keen to do just that.
“I can ride without training wheels. I ride really fast,” he said.
Ms Devey spoke to the News in March last year after teaming up with Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley to start a petition calling for construction funding.
The former Coalition Government bought the land in 2011.
“We want to send our children to the very best local school, yet we are facing a situation where our local schools are almost completely full,” Ms Devey said at the time.
“Because of how crowded the schools are, teachers are under pressure.”
Education Minister James Merlino agreed that “primary schools in this region (were) absolutely bursting”.
He said the new schools would be designed, financed, built and maintained for 25 years under the New Schools Public Private Partnership Project.
Mr Merlino said the State Government would sign contracts with Learning Communities Victoria by the end of October and construction would start soon after.
“These are about building not just schools, but community hubs,” he said.
Learning Communities Victoria includes Amber as sponsor, ClarkeHopkinsClarke as architect, Watpac as builder, Spotless as facilities manager and YMCA and CERES as community partners.
YMCA and CERES will run community and environmental programs at each school.
The State Government will establish School Reference Groups in the year prior to each school opening, providing a link between the project and the broader community during the initial planning and construction stage.
