Urgent plea from Wyndham Mayor Peter Maynard as schools ‘burst at the seams’

With 100 babies born each week, Melbourne’s fastest growing municipality says it needs 75 new classrooms each year to keep up with demand.

Melbourne’s fastest growing area has issued an urgent plea for the State Government to step up and fund the construction of new schools as classrooms are “bursting at the seams”.

Wyndham Mayor Peter Maynard said his local government area had the highest number of students per state school in Victoria.

And with more than 100 babies born each week in Wyndham, there needed to be 75 new classrooms each year to keep up with demand.

“Wyndham has seen a number of new schools open in recent years, with more to come, and we are very grateful for the State Government’s investment,” he said.

“But more investment is needed now, as well as a longer term plan. Our classrooms are already overcrowded and bursting at the seams.”

Compared to the Melbourne average, schools in Wyndham have almost twice as many students – 983 per school compared to 554.

Funding to build five schools was allocated in the 2021 state budget alongside land acquisition for five additional future schools.

These schools, in the growing suburbs of Manor Lakes, Tarneit, Truganina and Werribee, are expected to open by 2024.

Wyndham mayor Peter Maynard. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

But Cr Maynard said modelling showed the announcement did not go far enough to keep pace with Wyndham’s record population growth.

Home to about 283,000 residents, Wyndham has consistently seen the fastest population growth of any local government area in Victoria.

“We have the highest number of students per government school in the whole of Victoria,” he said.

“We need the government to urgently develop a comprehensive School Provision Plan for Wyndham … to avoid foreseeable future shortages and ensure our children’s education won’t suffer.”

The council report found that by 2041 Wyndham will need an additional 16 schools to cater for an estimated population of half-a-million residents.

Eight new schools have been opened by the State Government since 2018 and $15 million has been set aside for expansions at Alamanda P-9 College in Point Cook, Manor Lakes P-12 College and Tarneit Senior College.