Beverley McArthur MP
Member for Western Victoria Region
Media Statement
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CHILWELL PRIMARY SCHOOL
Member for Western Victoria Region, Bev McArthur used a Constituency Question and Adjournment Debate in Parliament yesterday, to call upon the Minister for Education to address the concerns of the community of Chilwell Primary School who are being ignored in the negotiation process of a new building refurbishment.
The School Council has spent the past two years attempting to persuade the Victorian School Building Authority of an alternative plan to the scheduled refurbishment of an asbestos-ridden, unfit for purpose and outdated building. The elected School Council with the support of the school community have proposed to instead spend the $2.4m of taxpayer funds on constructing an entire new building which would cater for their growing student population.
Bev McArthur recounted her attendance of a meeting with the school community last week, where she witnessed the community’s frustration and fury. She noted that the Member for Geelong, Christine Couzens was absent from the community meeting despite voicing her support for the community’s position prior to the election but had never responded to the School Council post November 24, 2018.
Bev McArthur contended that “the primary parties consulted in the construction or refurbishment of any school building should be its community and students, not dictatorial bureaucrats who are unaffected by the outcomes.”
Bev McArthur argued for the halt of the refurbishment planning process so that the elected and responsible school body can be consulted to achieve the most beneficial outcome for students and taxpayers alike. She suggested that the contract signing between the VBSA and construction tenderer should be over ruled by the Minister until such consultation took place.
20 March 2019