Devenish Primary School students still not returned to class despite staff promises
Parents at a tiny school are becoming increasingly frustrated as their children sit at home instead of going to school. Read why.
Goulburn Valley
Don't miss out on the headlines from Goulburn Valley. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Parents of students locked out of their small northern Victorian school feel a government department is “stringing them along till they go away”.
The Department of Education promised to staff Devenish Primary School after parents protested for their student’s enrollments to be accepted last month.
However, mother Jenny Binion - whose daughter Lily was slated to start year four at the school this year - said the department was doing very little to help.
“We feel they’re just stringing us along till we just go away,” Ms Binion said.
“The kids haven’t been in school one day this year.”
In response to questions the Department of Education said it was trying to find staff for the four families who enrolled their children at the school.
“We have commenced an expression-of-interest process for two staff, including a teaching principal, for Devenish Primary School,” a spokesperson said.
However, Ms Binion accused the department of only advertising for the positions late last week after parents threatened to go back to the media as the situation dragged on without change.
“They’ve done nothing at all,” Ms Binion said. “They’ve only just put a teacher’s job out on their website after they received an email from Chris Gregory and then another one from me saying we’re gonna go back to the media because you haven’t even advertised,” she said.
Ms Binion has been homeschooling her daughter Lilly since the start of the academic year.
“A mum who is a principal from Melbourne has been sending me work for Lilly so that she can do it at home until they [the education department] get a relief,” she said.
“The kids are really sad; they don’t understand why they are not allowed to go school.”
Ms Binion said she would like to see the department fast track filling the positions.
“I ask the department to please send us a relief teacher in the interim until they find a permanent staff member,” she said.
Geek sex freak paid for premium pedo site memberships
A Shepparton childcare cosplayer and Sesame Street fanboy paid up to $5000 to view vile child abuse material to “relieve himself”.
‘Rape baby’ son worries father will ‘hurt or kill’ more women
The “rape baby” and ex-wife of a convicted Shepparton sex offender have grave concerns he will commit more crimes against women in the wake of his release from prison.