Northern Metropolitan Region
Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (14:12): (747) My constituency question is for the Minister for Education. I raise again the plight of the Pavilion School, in my electorate, which supports at-risk students to re-engage with education. The school desperately needs to expand so they can assist the 40 students who are languishing on their waitlist without somewhere to go to school. Thank you, Minister, for your previous responses on this matter, but unfortunately the issues have not been remedied by the government’s actions to date. The school continues to be underfunded and in urgent need of more space. There is plenty of unused, spare land near them at Melbourne Polytechnic, but it is estimated to cost $6.9 million to develop. The school is already struggling to pay rent, and the department has refused to help with any expansion plans. This is despite having funded expansions of similar schools in Richmond and Brunswick. The Pavilion School is vital for students around Epping who would otherwise be without access to school. Minister, will you fund the Pavilion School sustainably and give them funding to expand?