Comment: Kids caught up in the political cycle as regional school deteriorates

Yarram Primary School in regional Victoria was earmarked for an upgrade in 1996 but with every change of government the students have been left waiting. Now the community has turned to social media for help, writes Marian Macdonald.

Yarram Primary School students take YouTube viewers on a tour of their school, with leaking roof and run-down toilets. Source: YouTube

As my daughter gingerly steps over the trickle of water oozing from a cubicle in her school toilets, I’m flooded with unexpected pride.

Wrinkling her nose, she coyly notes the toilets are “not very nice” and “a bit stinky”. She’s speaking to another parent beside me but, armed with a mobile phone and the magic of YouTube, we hope her voice carries a couple of hundred kilometres, all the way to Spring Street, Melbourne.

The toilets are just the beginning, of course. Other children point to leaking ceilings, describe working in the corridor and the disruptiveness of computers that routinely crash, thanks to inadequate cabling through asbestos eaves. Our children are the stars of a community campaign aimed at bringing the plight of our rural primary school right into the Education Minister’s office.

Yarram Primary School kids have their say about the school's condition via social media. Source: YouTube

Aside from the kids’ video tour of the school, we’ve launched a Facebook page, a website and not one, but two, petitions. In just the past couple of weeks, we’ve been on the radio and the TV and in the newspaper.

It’s a pretty radical step for a town of less than 2000 people but we’re jumping in boots and all because the political cycle has failed the children of Yarram for far too long.

By far the largest, yet the very last, school in the district to be rebuilt, Yarram Primary has been very unlucky. The school was first identified as in need of modernisation 20 years ago in 1996 after the Kennett government closed down a swag of nearby schools. It was promised a “quality upgrade” that never happened.

By 2009, we were celebrating a funding announcement. Then there was a change of government and we were forced to start at square one again. In 2014, we were promised funding to finalise the architect’s plans for a new school building but, once more, there was a change of government. Thankfully, the Andrews government fulfilled the coalition’s promise in 2015 and our rebuild project is now shovel-ready. But will it be built? And when?

Yarram Primary School was earmarked for an upgrade in 1996. Source: YouTube

We’re not taking anything for granted. The rebuild is in the hands of the politicians so we’ve decided to follow the advice of Dr Seuss and make the type of noise, noise, noise where every voice counts.

The results so far have been nothing short of inspirational. Yarram Primary is a cherished school in our relatively isolated district and the response from the community to our appeal has been warm and overwhelming.

In less than 24 hours, more than 10 per cent of Yarram’s population signed the online petition.

Grandparents, parents, former students and parents expecting to one day send their own children to our school have all felt compelled to add their voices.

“This school was so welcoming to my brother, sister and I when we started here late in the year. I have made lifelong friends here and I believe every child deserves to get an education in a school that is safe and structurally sound. This was and still is a fantastic school” - Samantha Lucas, Traralgon

“My grandchildren attend this school and since they moved here from Melbourne they have improved in leaps and bounds with their school work. There are lots of kids in Yarram and this school is vital to them please fund it. Thankyou” - Suzan Manning, Australia

“I was educated at YPS. My son went to school there too...it’s always been a great school ...supporting and encouraging its students in their early education ...It obviously needs this funding to give the community's children a good learning environment and access to greater education opportunities by updating infrastructure and technology.” - Jenny Bland, Alberton, Australia

I am proud of my daughter for telling her story, proud of her much-loved school and the ingenious teachers who provide a great education in spite of the infrastructure’s failings, and proud of our community for rallying behind its children with such spirit.

I only wish the future of our children’s education was considered something far too important to fall between the cracks of a political cycle. The children of Yarram have been waiting 20 years. They can’t wait any longer.

Marian Macdonald is a dairy farmer and mother from regional Victoria. She blogs at The Milk Maid Marian.