Talking Point: Build a Hobart high school but watch the other schools shrink

TERRY POLGLASE: First make a plan, because families send children to high-income areas

MILIONAIRE MILE: Parents flock to schools in well-off areas.

Ten years ago Rosetta High School’s then principal Graeme Speight, with then education minister Nick McKim’s full support, sorted out the diabolical situation our city had with run-down, outdated and underused primary schools. This was a different time when trust, faith and the backing of leaders in schools by a government and its minister enabled several schools to close and new ones to emerge with community support. It took just six months for the principals concerned to develop the strategic plan, consult, and gather the confidence of their communities and reform primary education north of the city. Abbotsfield, Claremont, Mt Faulkner and Roseneath were closed and Austins Ferry and Windemere built. Such change had not been seen since the 1960s when our comprehensive high schools and colleges were seamlessly introduced.

The time to revitalise our high schools has arrived but it won’t happen while populist promises continue to be made on the eve of every election. The building of a promised high school for Brighton has just been announced as parents are calling for an inner-city high school to be established. In hindsight the Brighton school should have been built a decade ago but then-minister David Bartlett made the emotionally understandable but flawed decision to rebuild the burnt-down Bridgewater High on its former site. The grandiose plan at the time for the Jordan River Learning Federation has since fallen apart over the years and the high school retains a mere 300 students with almost none enrolled from Brighton Primary School leavers. The lesson here is that short-term governments are not best placed to be making these decisions.

Parents have choice and are aspirational for their children. They send their children to schools where family incomes are higher, with Taroona being the prime example.

When the new Brighton school is opened expect a mass exodus of students from Jordan River wanting to attend. If a new inner-city school is announced, expect numbers to drop in all suburban high schools of Hobart, including those on the Eastern Shore as well as a decrease in numbers at Taroona High.

If built on the university site on Sandy Bay Rd’s millionaire mile where several elite private schools are located, places will be eagerly sought.

What to do with the space left unused in schools elsewhere needs to be planned for or it becomes wasted government money, so alternatives need to be considered. Trust and the backing of our school leaders are once again needed. A think tank or an advisory body is needed, consisting of two (elected by staff) representatives, with the principal being one, but only if having been in the role for more than two years, from each Hobart suburban school. The minister and department secretary’s role would be to provide papers, data and information they believe the group requires and provide the body with information as and when it is requested.

Unless one or more schools can be closed, sold or re-purposed with an overall plan developed for the South, the building of an additional school should not be countenanced. Single-sex schools are becoming fewer in number on the mainland and having Ogilvie and New Town high schools return to being co-educational should be strongly considered. Land is available in the adjacent St John’s precinct for expansion of Ogilvie. Many schools on the mainland cater for 2000 or more student enrolments.

Risdon Vale Primary has been mentioned for closure in the past and it is a three-minute drive to Lindisfarne North which is on the site of what was Geilston Bay High. The high school catered for 700 students and could easily become a kinder to Year 10 or 12 school such as Sorell or Huonville. Cosgrove is ideally placed to be considered for a similar repurposing. It would provide schooling for the expected growth in primary aged students in the area and would provide an alternative to what is offered at New Town and Ogilvie.

What an exciting prospect I would have thought. Select dynamic principals challenged by the prospect of starting a new school and allow them to select staff members who want to take part.

Terry Polglase was a school principal for 16 years and state president of the Australian Education Union 2012 to 2015.