Northern Victoria Region
Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (12:43): (111) My question is for the Minister for Education and concerns acquisition of vacant land next to Toolamba Primary School in Wren Street. Toolamba Primary School has a current enrolment of 144 and is expected to grow significantly in the future. The school is currently landlocked, but in a stroke of luck a local family has offered the school a vacant block adjacent to the school for purchase at approximately 50 per cent of its market value. The block was valued at $220,000 in September 2022. The school council has submitted a business case supporting the purchase of the land, but the Victorian School Building Authority has since indicated the soil is contaminated, with decontamination costs estimated to be $113,000. Whilst the news is disappointing, the purchase of the land is a chance to futureproof Toolamba Primary School that cannot be missed. Will the minister provide the full funding required to purchase and decontaminate the block of land adjacent to Toolamba Primary School?