No plans for new school

By Lachlan Ellis

The State Government has said that there are no plans for a new secondary school in Bacchus Marsh, in response to community concerns over school capacity.

Bacchus Marsh College is the only public secondary school in Bacchus Marsh, and with the township’s population set to increase from 24,000 (2021) to almost 47,000 (2041) according to .id’s forecast, some parents are concerned that their kids will miss out on a local education.

One of those parents is Sarah Guy, who last month wrote to Victorian Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins, and shared her letter with the Moorabool News.

“I am a big believer in our education system; I think we live in an incredible country to have such a system available to us, however my issue lies with the inequity, and indeed, inequality in funding as it relates to Bacchus Marsh,” Ms Guy wrote.

“Our population is increasing rapidly – Bacchus Marsh is an area of natural beauty, has affordable housing and a location within the ‘golden triangle’ – squarely located between Melbourne, Ballarat and Geelong; an ideal commuter town.”

Ms Guy cited a $72 million difference in State Government spending for Bacchus Marsh College compared to McKinnon Secondary College from 2017 to 2021, and while the latter school had over 1500 more enrolments than BMC in 2022, Ms Guy calculated a $35 million difference in State Government spending over that period, when correcting for a per student spend.

Using enrolment and population figures, Ms Guy said that the 984 enrolments at BMC in 2021 equated to 31.52 per cent of the greater Bacchus Marsh population aged 10 to 19 that year. Assuming 31.42 per cent of that age bracket enrol at BMC in 2041, she said, the school would have 2025 enrolments.

“In its current form, the school could not cope with a doubling of its population; and I do not think that slapping more portables down will be the answer,” she said.

The Moorabool News asked the Department of Education what BMC’s current capacity is, and if there were any plans to expand the school, or establish another public secondary school in Bacchus Marsh.

“Every student is guaranteed the right to attend their local school. There is currently capacity at Bacchus Marsh College to enrol local students who wish to attend the school. We regularly review and analyse demographic data as part of our statewide planning for schools,” a Department of Education spokesperson told the Moorabool News.

“The Victorian Government has invested more than $30 billion in school programs and infrastructure to ensure every school is a great local school.”

The Department reviews student numbers at public schools annually as part of statewide planning.

The capacity of Bacchus Marsh College was stated at 1050 students.19