Wednesday, 17 August 2022

Yarra Hills Secondary College

Ms VALLENCE (Evelyn) (19:10): (6492) The matter I raise is for the Minister for Education on behalf of the Yarra Hills Secondary College community, specifically the Mount Evelyn campus community in my electorate—the students, their families, the college principal, the Mount Evelyn campus principal and the teaching staff. The action I seek is for the minister to provide much-needed funds that will be sufficient for major building upgrades at Yarra Hills Secondary College’s Mount Evelyn campus, and I invite the minister to join me on a visit to the school to see firsthand why these upgrades are needed. Sadly the Mount Evelyn campus was entirely overlooked by the Andrews Labor government in its Lilydale district and Yarra Valley education plan. Disappointingly, the Department of Education and Training and the minister’s office nearly forgot to include the Yarra Hills Secondary College altogether, and I commend the school and its principal on their advocacy to ensure the Mooroolbark campus at least received some upgrades.

Now it is time for the Andrews government to turn its attention to the Mount Evelyn campus, because the students and the teachers there also deserve to learn and work in a modern and safe school environment. The Mount Evelyn campus of Yarra Hills Secondary College has not received any capital improvement funding for over 20 years, and when you consider the Andrews Labor government has been in power for 17 of the past 21 years, it is unacceptable Labor has failed to invest in this school. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Mount Evelyn campus of Yarra Hills Secondary College on a number of occasions to hear firsthand from principal Darren Trippett and campus principal Leighton O’Donnell their vision to revitalise the school and attract more students from the Mount Evelyn community given it now offers programs from 7 to 12 and VCAL. In particular there is a need to revamp the front entrance at the architectural archway, to create a new administration and reception and then to upgrade classrooms throughout. Furthermore, I ask the minister to take note of the indoor basketball courts, on which the Andrews government’s Victorian School Building Authority contractor has recently conducted some very shoddy works that have caused significant leaking and severely damaged the basketball court flooring. I ask the minister and department to have this rectified without delay. I call on the Andrews government to fund these school building upgrades at the Yarra Hills Secondary College Mount Evelyn campus.