Opposition Leader supports Mary MacKillop expansion plans

BANNOCKBURN is booming and there’s no better example of that than the growth of St Mary MacKillop Catholic Primary School.

Established last year with an enrolment of 75 pupils, the school’s population increased to 160 in 2019 and is looking to grow to 400 in the future.

With that growth comes a need for more room and facilities. The construction of an adjoining church on the corner of High and Milton street will support that need and so will a planned expansion to the west of the school grounds.

“Next year we hit capacity, so we’re waiting on government funding,” said Principal Anthony Dill.

“We have a submission in to rebuild the admin centre, where the old school house is, and that will free up the current administration space for another two to three class rooms which will take us through to about 250 students, and then we’ll have to build again.”

In support of St Mary MacKillop’s funding needs, the school was recently visited by Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan and State Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien.

With the current costed expansion plans running at around $4 million, both politicians noted the overall growth of the Bannockburn region and called on State government funding to underpin the expansion plans.

“Everyone should have the right to a good education no matter where they live in Victoria,” Mr O’Brien said. “We’re seeing a lot of investment in Melbourne, but we need to make sure that regional Victoria gets its fair share too.

“My plea to the State government, and Richard is a very strong advocate as the local member, but we think that schools such as St Mary MacKillop should be able to receive a fair share of government money and support.”