Schools’ cash boost as Gardner digs in on school zone changes

Dozens of transportable classrooms will be needed to cope with high school enrolment growth in Adelaide’s north and south until two new schools open in 2022.

• Mega Adelaide high school to have 2200 students
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Dozens of transportable classrooms will be needed to cope with high school enrolment growth in Adelaide’s north and south until two new schools open in 2022.

The Advertiser can reveal the State Government will spend $13 million on 24 demountable classrooms, science labs and art rooms with a total capacity of 600 students.

They are expected to be needed most in the northern and southern suburbs but could be deployed elsewhere.

Education Minister John Gardner said the “fleet of flexible learning areas” would “provide a cost-effective and quality solution to addressing capacity issues”.

Another $10.3 million will fund 180 new places in special units and special classes for students with disabilities in high schools.

The commitments bring the total announced this week to $185 million to educate an extra 10,000 secondary students by 2022, largely because of the looming introduction of Year 7s to high schools but also other enrolment growth.

Education Minister John Gardner (right) is greeted by a staff member as he arrives at Black Forest Primary School’s 100th anniversary celebrations. Picture: AAP Image/Brenton Edwards

Mr Gardner yesterday faced the music at the 100th anniversary celebrations of Black Forest Primary – one of the schools where parents are angry they have been shunted from the city high school zone to ease enrolment pressure.

But his job was made easier after principal Iain Elliott issued a plea to parents for the special event to be a “positive experience”.

Mr Gardner met with governing council chairwoman Tamara Agnew, who had written to him calling the rezoning “a considerable breach of trust”.

“Disappointed is underselling the feelings of utter devastation among our community,” she wrote, adding it would be too late for many parents to find places at private schools.

Ms Agnew said Mr Gardner gave her a good hearing but made it clear the rezoning decision would not be reversed.

Student Ellie Chapman, 12, presented Mr Gardner with a petition and asked him to reconsider “if not for everyone, then at least those who are going into Year 8 next year, like me, who were very excited and had high hopes of attending one of the (city) schools”.

Ellie’s dad Jason Chapman said: “Private schooling options we previously considered are now very problematic as their intakes are for Year 7 and happened some 18 months to two years ago. We are severely limited by this shock decision and have next to no time to consider options for our children’s schooling future.”

Plympton Primary parent Surender Pal, whose son is now zoned to Plympton International College instead of the CBD high schools, visited Black Forest Primary to vent his frustration over the lack of consultation on the rezoning.

“Many people in this area are very, very angry and upset,” he said. “It is very, very, disrespectful they didn’t talk with anybody.”

Opposition education spokeswoman Susan Close said parents should have been told of the zone change before the state election.

Labor MP Jayne Stinson, whose electorate of Badcoe includes many of the affected suburbs, said she had been contacted by 250 parents distraught over the Government’s rezoning move.

Mr Gardner said affected families could access a case management service to help them see if their children were suitable for special entry programs at Adelaide High and Adelaide Botanic High.

But their applications would not get preferential treatment over those from other areas, he said.

The two city schools can take 110 out-of-zone special entry enrolments – 60 for languages and 15 each for rowing and cricket at Adelaide High, and 20 for health and sciences at Adelaide Botanic High.