WODONGA Middle Years College’s Huon campus will receive a $5 million upgrade if a Liberal-National Victorian state government is elected in November.
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Benambra MLA Bill Tilley was joined by opposition education spokesman Tim Smith to announce the funding, which will go towards a new visual arts, technology and performing arts centre at the school.
The $5 million figure is for stage one of a proposed four-stage plan to upgrade the ageing Mitchell Street campus, which was originally built as a trade school in the 1960s.
Mr Tilley also announced $150,000 for new toilets at Osborne’s Flat Primary School.
Both projects would be included in the 2019 budget if the Liberals win the state election.
“We’re extremely proud of our students and educators here, and we’re hopeful we’ll be given the opportunity, after November, to deliver upon these important investments in education,” Mr Tilley said.
“What we’re experiencing here is students and educators working in a 60-year-old, ready to fall down facility.
“Unfortunately the current students probably won’t see that built, but they’ll be going into good facilities previously built at Wodonga Senior Secondary College.”
Thursday morning’s announcement also included the LNP officially committing to match the $9.4 million investment announced by Labor MLC Jaclyn Symes earlier this year for Beechworth Secondary College.
Wodonga Middle Years College school council president Paul Thorpe welcomed the investment.
“I’m delighted, you can see the school is getting quite old in some areas, but that’s not the reason for the investment,” he said.
“That money is here to provide leading education in our buildings and to support our great teachers.”
Further stages of the upgrade project will include new buildings for each of the three year levels at the Huon campus, as well as a new administration building.
Upgrades for the Feltimber and Senior Secondary College campuses were completed in 2014.
“I don’t think the school has been neglected deliberately, it was built a long time ago,” Mr Thorpe said.
“My understanding is that these buildings were built in the 1960s, with a lifespan of about 40 to 50 years.
“You can do the maths therefore they probably should have been upgraded 10 years or so ago.”