Condition Assessment Scores for Victorian Government schools measure schools in a scale from one to five, considering maintenance backlogs, building defects and damage to school infrastructure.
Yarrawonga College P-12 received a score of 3.22 placing it below the average of 3.48 and among the state’s worst.
It’s not news to staff, students and families at the school who have been lobbying for works to be funded for years.
School council president, Kate Forge said the facilities needed improvement.
“The school community has consistently advocated through the appropriate channels for upgrades, with limited progress to date at a state government level,” she said.
“We are hopeful of receiving funding in this year’s state budget to follow on from the planning funding we finally received last year".
In April 2024, outgoing school council president Carolyn O’Dwyer described the school buildings, which were built in the 1950s, as “dilapidated”.
“Our school is falling down around the kids’ ears; some kids are in buildings their great grandparents were in,” she said.
The shovel-ready, second stage of works to provide a state-of-the-art learning facility and complete relocation of the campus onto one site, have been on hold since 2017.
In 2022, with Yarrawonga one of the fastest growing towns in regional Victoria, the school reached 1000 students.
At the time, Ms O’Dwyer said it was bursting at the seams; the buildings were nowhere near standard and couldn’t fit any more students.
This year, the new school year started with 1071 students enrolled.
The Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, said the Yarrawonga College P-12 score ranked the school among the worst in the state for infrastructure condition and confirmed what the local community had been raising for years.
“Families expect their local schools to be safe, well-maintained places where children can learn and thrive,” Mr McCurdy said.
“These results show that too many students in our region are attending schools that have been allowed to deteriorate under Labor’s watch.”
He said the data comes amid growing concerns about the Government’s failure to deliver promised school upgrades and the revelation of billions of dollars in education funding cuts buried in the most recent State Budget.
Ms Forge said that while the facilities need attention, they did not define the quality of education.
“Our highly qualified, dedicated and enthusiastic teachers’ tireless work is reflected in the strong learning results of our students,” she said.
Stage Two Works
• Year 7 and 8 general and specialist classrooms
• Year 9 – 12 general and specialist classrooms
• College basketball stadium and car parks
• College oval to be utilised by students and staff, Yarrawonga Mulwala Cricket Club, Yarrawonga Mulwala Little Athletics and other sporting groups.
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