Goodwood Primary School has made the Government’s hit list and they’re not going down without a fight!!.
The Primary School plays a crucial role in the local Community and the closure would be devastating for the entire community.
Concerned community members will get together today at the Goodwood’s Precinct meeting to discuss their concerns and their next move. The meeting is to take place at 2pm at the Goodwood Community Centre. Advisors from Senator Carol Browns Office and Elise Archer’s have confirmed attendance.
The community has established both an electronic and hardcopy petition
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-goodwood-primary-school.html#fbbox
along with a Facebook site ‘Save Goodwood Primary School’ to gather community support for the battle.
The Goodwood Primary School is essential in ensuring the Goodwood community continues to evolve into a strong, stable and socially engaged region.
Goodwood should have an active voice in the future of our State by sustaining and building on the community’s strong values and pride by not centralising this educational service and not disengaging and fragmenting the community even more than what it currently is.
Picture from Graeme Sturges’ website HERE where it says: Goodwood Primary School
On Thursday 22 February, Graeme visited Goodwood Primary School and toured the redevelopment works that are underway there.
Graeme met with the Principal of Goodwood Primary, Mr Shaun Pearce.
Mr Pearce and the Prep class showed Graeme around the works:
Will’s alternative Budget: Libs pledge to keep schools open
The Opposition Leader, Will Hodgman, says the Liberals’ alternative budget would return the state to surplus sooner and stronger than the Government’s budget effort last week.
It will cut the public sector by 1,700 workers but promises no forced redundancies.
Mr Hodgman says frontline jobs would be protected.
Cost-cutting measures, including axing the state architect and creating a single planning scheme will save enough to create a $60 million education fund to keep all schools open and roll years 11 and 12 into the state’s high schools.
As well as keeping the Government’s plan to cut land tax rebates, the Liberals would slug Tasmanians $3 million more a year in police and parking fines.
• TFGA welcomes Liberals’ education initiatives
The Tasmanian Farmers and Grazers Association today welcomed the State Liberals’ move to extend the class range of high schools from Year 7-12 over a 10-year transition period, saying it was a logical move to improve student retention rates.
“The present system of schools offering students Year 7-10 before they come to a rather large and confusing fork in the road – and instilling in them a notion that they are Leavers – brings an inevitable decision: they leave the education system,” TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said today.
“It has to be a prime cause of Tasmania’s appallingly low retention rate. A state of this size should be a leader in education,” she said.
“Not only is the present system illogical, it is inefficient in terms of the cost of its administration. Duplication and triplication is rife. A system of Year 7-12 would be more efficient and instill a culture of continuity.”
Ms Davis said the decision by the Giddings Government to threaten 20 schools with closure, 16 of them in rural areas of Tasmania, had been guaranteed to draw the response from the Liberals that they would close none, using $60 million of Budget savings to fund the rescue.
“While we welcome their approach, we look forward to a broad community consultation on the criteria for assessment of the fate of marginal schools,” she said.
“A policy of ’no forced closures’ requires clarification. One assumes there are limits to a school’s viability.”
• TFGA on Liberals’ Budget
Both the State Budget and the alternative presented today by Opposition Leader Will Hodgman were remarkably light on for vision for the future path of Tasmanian agriculture, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association said today.
“Premier Giddings’ Budget Speech made one passing reference to agriculture, the irrigation program, while Mr Hodgman’s alternative spoke about ‘refocusing’ funding for the fox eradication task force in a new division called Biosecurity Tasmania and that was about it,” TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said.
“That amounts to scant regard from both parties at a time when it is quite clear agriculture is going to be one of the main economic drivers in the years ahead.
“You could take the attitude that no news is good news but I believe farmers can feel a little let down by both the Government and the Opposition.
“The Government has spoken of an overall economic development plan for the state yet there has been no consultation with agriculture and we have been pressing for an agricultural plan for the state.”
Ms Davis said the enormity of the decline in Tasmania’s fortunes since the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis was only just being addressed.
For that reason, farmers would welcome the efficiency and financial management initiatives in the Liberals’ alternative Budget but would hope all parties would embrace them.
“The move to reform the planning system and to more closely monitor overall budgetary performance is sound,” she said.
“On the face of it, amalgamating four water and sewerage corporations makes sense in terms of economic efficiencies and reducing duplication but I know that farmers would want to know a lot more of the finer detail – how it would affect regional Tasmania – before they embraced the suggested change,” she said.
