VIOLET TOWN SCHOOL BUS WOES – SYKES CALLS FOR COMMON SENSE

Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, has joined parents of Violet Town students in their call for a common sense solution to the current problem of insufficient bus capacity for Violet Town students attending Benalla Secondary College and FCJ College. Put simply, common sense says put another bus on.

Worried parents & Dr Sykes met representatives of the Department of Education & Training (DET) and the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) yesterday. They highlighted that 24 students from 18 families were going to suffer if the Department persisted with their policy of advising students currently attending Benalla Secondary College to either attend Euroa Secondary College with free bus travel or to find other means of travel to Benalla.

Dr Sykes said, “Parents explained that Benalla Secondary College had been actively recruiting Violet Town students for many years and some 2006 students had already paid fees and purchased books.

Parents have chosen Benalla because of wider curriculum choices and because many Violet Town families work in Benalla and relate more to Benalla than Euroa.

Dr Sykes continued, “Government policy is that free bus travel is available to students to attend their nearest school and as Violet Town is 3-4 kilometres closer to Euroa than Benalla, the Government policy is that free bus travel should apply only to students travelling from Violet Town to Euroa.

“This policy has not been applied for over 30 years because of spare seating capacity on the Violet Town-Benalla bus and Violet Town students have been able to enjoy free bus travel to Benalla.”

“Parents were understandably frustrated that the DOI could put on an extra bus to take more students to Euroa (because that is within policy) but not put on the same bus to take students to Benalla in spite of many compelling reasons for the students to attend Benalla Secondary College.

“In early December I wrote to the Minister for Education Services, Jacinta Allan, asking her to provide flexibility in the Department’s approach to this issue – I am hopeful that our meeting provided a sound basis for some lateral thinking by DET & DOI.”

Dr Sykes concluded, “The Violet Town community is still recovering from the Toxic Waste Dump debacle.

“This issue has again seen the community unite, this time to ensure that their children are able to access the most appropriate education.

“I will again ask Minister Allan to apply common sense and common sense says put a bus on to take the extra students to Benalla in 2006 and to review the application of Government policy to students from communities such as Violet Town which are nearly equal distance from two schools.

Media contact: Bill Sykes (03) 5762 2100 or 0427 624 989