Building will begin at two Wyndham schools later this year and money has been set aside to buy land for two others in the Andrews government’s first state budget.
Last Tuesday’s budget included $10 million for the second stage of Tarneit College.
The P-9 school, which opened in 2013, has been waiting desperately for funding for its second stage.
Its secondary students are forced to attend classes in portable classrooms because the school doesn’t have enough permanent buildings to accommodate them, while specialist classes such as science and technology are being taught in regular classrooms.
The college also has no landscaping, meaning rain turns the playground into a mud pit.
Enrolment has rocketed from 300 students in 2013 to 1200 this year, and 1500 are expected by 2016.
Principal Peter Devereux said the funding was “very exciting news for the school community”.
“The previous government neglected our school and refused to commit to stage two,” he said.
“This will allow us to complete our secondary component, ensuring all our secondary students get a permanent classroom to learn in. It will create a comprehensive 21st century learning environment.”
The budget also included $7 million for Werribee Secondary College, allowing it to complete the third stage of its redevelopment.
The school has crumbling buildings that date back to the 1930s and ’50s and have been deemed fire hazards.
There was also $40 million to purchase land for new schools, including a second senior secondary school in Point Cook and a primary school at Davis Creek, Tarneit.
The Point Cook community has been fighting for an additional secondary school for many years, fearing the existing school will be unable to cope with future demand.
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