Mickleham Primary School parents wants answers over Labor’s masterplan upgrade

‘Heartbroken’ school parents thought their northwest Melbourne primary school was being brought into the future, now they fear being left behind.

Parents at the historic Mickleham Primary School fear their children will be left behind if upgrades are not provided.

Some Mickleham Primary School parents say their children will be “left behind” if further upgrades are not delivered to one of Victoria’s oldest schools.

Labor said it would provide a $21.433 million upgrade to the school as well as $7.49 million “to acquire land and rebuild the school on an expanded site” in 2020.

Some facilities at the school are not accessible until term two begins this year due to access roads being delayed, which Victorian School Building Association advised parents about last year.

Kalkallo MP Ros Spence described the project as a “great win for the community” but only the start of the plans for the site.

The Department of Education confirmed the first stage of the upgrade was to include two learning centres, an administration building, a hard court, complete landscaping and an oval restoration and would allow for 475 students.

“The project began in late 2020 and is scheduled for completion by the end of Term 2 this year,” a department spokesperson said.

After the construction documentation phase, parents on the school council were told the $21.433 million would not be enough for the upgrade and the plan needed to change.

The total build is now labelled a “multistage” development and the school council said it had not been provided with a timeline for completion or additional funds.

“Once they did all their figures and consultants fees and all that there wasn’t enough for the whole build, including the gymnasium and features we were missing out on,” Mickleham Primary School council vice-president Matt Goodman said.

“They’re not giving us an indication of what stage or when we’ll be able to access further funding or get the rest of the school completed.

“They should be proactive instead of reactive … [a lot of] the land around the school and north of the school is set for subdivision so it’s going to get very busy in the near future here.”

There are fears the school would be without a gymnasium and modern canteen.

The council said these were much needed for an institution built in 1855, which is also situated in one of Melbourne’s fastest growing suburbs.

However, the proposal for a new gymnasium and modern canteen, to replace the operational one, would likely form part two of the school’s masterplan which is subject to future budget announcements.

Ms Spence explained that the increase of students would put the school into the category which can now plan for a gymnasium, which is why a second stage has been added to the planning and she plans to work and advocate with the school.

School council member Stephanie McCaw said the original announcement had brought “joy” but over two years later, there was confusion about when the full project would be delivered.

Mr Goodman said the school council wanted to see a solid commitment and time frame for the full master plan to be completed.

“The community is a bit heartbroken but we’re holding together and we just want some recognition and some definition of when we’re going to get everything complete,” he said.

“We’re such an old school, we need to be front and centre not just left behind.”