Wednesday, 24 August 2016

Harriet Shing, Member for Eastern Victoria, today helped turn the first sod of the new $13.85 million Sale specialist School.

Ms Shing stated that the school received the necessary $7.6million to ensure the project’s completion in the 2016-17 Victorian Budget.

Joining members of the school community to turn the sod, Ms Shing officially marked the beginning of construction at the much anticipated new school’s greenfield site on the Princes Highway.

The new integrated campus will comprise three learning homesteads for junior, middle and senior years, a dedicated administration building, a central plaza and a multi-purpose building. It has been designed as a single level campus to provide equal access for all. It will also include outdoor areas with bike paths, sand play spaces, asphalt courts, wheelchair accessible cubby and swing and sensory play areas.

These new state-of-the-art buildings and outdoor facilities will mean better learning environments for local students so they can get the best out of their education.

The Victorian Government is building the Education State so that every Victorian gets the opportunity for a great education and every community has access to a great school.

This means delivering the money needed for new buildings, new upgrades and entirely new schools for our kids – because you can’t get a first-rate education in second-rate classrooms.

The Victorian Budget 2016/17 invests over $924 million in building new schools and upgrading classrooms, while a $200 million funding boost will help us better maintain existing school facilities.

This includes $375 million to plan, upgrade and rebuild at least 147 schools – 87 of them in Melbourne’s suburbs and 60 in regional Victoria.

The Budget also provides the investment needed to plan, acquire land for and build a total of 23 new schools.

The school is expected to be completed in the middle of 2017.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing:

“After so many years of making do with outdated and unsuitable facilities, it’s wonderful to move another step closer to the new school opening its doors and it was a real pleasure to advocate on behalf of students, staff, parents and carers to secure the funding for this long overdue project.”

“The Andrews Government continues to provide funding to upgrade the many schools around Gippsland that desperately need improvement, and I’m particularly excited to see the new Sale Specialist School take shape.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education, James Merlino: 

“Our kids can’t get a first-rate education in second-rate class rooms. A high-quality education system must be matched by high-quality learning environments where students are engaged, stimulated and encouraged to be creative thinkers.”

“We’re prioritising Victoria’s education system because we recognise that the Education State sits at the heart of Victoria’s future social, economic and global success.”