BANNOCKBURN is booming and there\u2019s no better example of that than the growth of St Mary MacKillop Catholic Primary School.<\/p>\n
Established last year with an enrolment of 75 pupils, the school\u2019s population increased to 160 in 2019 and is looking to grow to 400 in the future.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext year we hit capacity, so we\u2019re waiting on government funding,\u201d said Principal Anthony Dill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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\u2019ll have to build again.\u201d<\/p>\n
In support of St Mary MacKillop\u2019s funding needs, the school was recently visited by Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan and State Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone should have the right to a good education no matter where they live in Victoria,\u201d Mr O\u2019Brien said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot of investment in Melbourne, but we need to make sure that regional Victoria gets its fair share too.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANNOCKBURN is booming and there\u2019s 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\u2019s population increased to 160 in 2019 and is looking to grow to 400 in the future. With that growth comes a need for more […]<\/p>\n