While students at Cootamundra High School will end up with an improved facility as a result of repair work on their storm-damaged C Block, it is not good enough they will have to wait at least four months.
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Students are sent to school with the idea that education is the key to achieving in life, however something about turning up each day to see a building held together temporarily for months on end seems to run against this thought.
Students should be given the best possible environment to learn in, yet regional schools appear to be consistently overlooked for funding.
A school maintenance backlog worth more than half a million dollars and science laboratories from the 1950s may inspire out students to learn to work in below-par conditions but is this what we really want?
A storm is an unpredictable event, however where was the Department of Education in the immediate aftermath of the October storm?
Surely a better solution than carrying out the repair work needed on the building in conjunction with daily classes would have been to do it during these school holidays, yet it appears the project has been put on the back-burner.
Cootamundra High School consistently turns out students who achieve high university entrance scores, secure steady employment in trades and contribute to their community, however the State Government does not appear to be fostering this; instead seemingly leaving students to their own devices to succeed.
Parents put their hand up to be part of a proactive P&C at Cootamundra High School and faculty members consistently go above and beyond the call of duty for the benefit of their students, yet funding and repairs to maintain the standard of the school are sadly lacking.
It is not an issue unique to Cootamundra High School as most schools battle with funding shortages, however it an issue that any member of the community with an interest in the school should be looking at closely.
While students will return to school at the end of the month and life will go on, the lack of a roof on C Block is emblematic of a long-running issue facing all schools.
- Photo features Cootamundra High School Principal Neil Reaper in the days following the damage to C Block.