JAMES Fallon High School is poised to be the first recipient of funding in the Albury electorate under the Coalition’s proposal to privatise electricity assets if it is returned to office on Saturday.
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Local MP Greg Aplin has revealed he has put a new $4 million hall for the Albury school at the top of his priority list for a share of the $6 billion to be distributed to regional areas from the long-term lease of the state’s “poles and wires”.
In response to a direct question from The Border Mail about projects in contention for privatisation proceeds, Mr Aplin said James Fallon High School was at the head of the queue.
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The multi-purpose hall missed out on the former federal Labor government’s $14 billion building education revolution announced in 2009.
“I’ve selected James Fallon as one I want to see progressed in the next term,” Mr Aplin said.
“It is a need which I have investigated and spoken to people about.
“It has been neglected for far too long and I’m the one who has driven this.
“I’ve done an enormous amount of research and I have taken that forward to the minister, the department and to the floor of Parliament.”
James Fallon students now rehearse for productions at the school, but perform off-site at locations including the Albury Entertainment Centre.
The new hall would also be used for assemblies with all staff and students now forced to stand under a large veranda.
Assemblies held in the existing hall are managed by dividing the school into year groups in order to fit everyone in.
School parents and citizens president Christine Cameron said the battle for a new hall dated back to the 1990s.
“The school was promised a larger hall on two occasions, but lost this promise both times with a change of government,” she said.
“It was also noted in the early minutes of the 1960s that the current hall couldn’t hold all the school for any special occasion.
“We have had a verbal reassurance from Greg Aplin that there could be some funding available in one of the funding packages, but as yet we have had no further news from his office.”
