PARENTS and staff from Holy Rosary and Heathcote primary schools have said they are disappointed with a decision to discontinue funding for school crossing supervisors at High Street.<\/p>\n
The move means from 2024 three school crossings in the area will not be supervised.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe school community is concerned for the safety of local school kids,\u201d said parent and Holy Rosary community engagement leader Tess Holmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast term, we were contacted by a representative from the City of Greater Bendigo who told us VicRoads will no longer be funded crossings in Heathcote, as they are not used enough to warrant it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It costs $20,000 a year to fund each crossing with half the funds coming from the municipality and half from VicRoads.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly Rosary Primary School is currently working with a representative from council who is putting a business case together to try and secure ongoing funding,\u201d said Ms Holmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil has agreed to continue funding three days a week until the end of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crossings will be supervised Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier this year a Safe Routes to School program was initiated by council and we asked for an additional crossing to be supervised at the intersection of Mitchell and Ebden Streets,\u201d said Ms Holmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess it is unlikely that crossing will receive funding for supervision if they are taking it away from High Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope we can encourage the CoGB and VicRoads to find the funding in their budgets to keep our students safe and are grateful for the help from CoGB so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grade 6 student Jason said he is concerned for himself and younger students at the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ride my bike to school every day,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the crossing is not supervised, I sometimes wait for two or three minutes before cars and trucks will stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just keep coming and ignore the flags.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crossing supervisor Sue Pace believes the crossing should be manned every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a major problem,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to be there for the kids. Drivers often don\u2019t realise there\u2019s a crossing there, especially when they are travelling too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holy Rosary Primary School principal Paul Dullard agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a time when we are promoting the Safe Routes to School project and encouraging kids to be more active, this is a setback,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a great response from the community for our bike ed and safety programs and were hoping more children would be riding, walking and scooting to school in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the decision will have a negative impact. We need the crossings. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s one child or 100, they need to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARENTS and staff from Holy Rosary and Heathcote primary schools have said they are disappointed with a decision to discontinue funding for school crossing supervisors at High Street. The move means from 2024 three school crossings in the area will not be supervised. \u201cThe school community is concerned for the safety of local school kids,\u201d […]<\/p>\n