By Olivia Condous
The Melton area will benefit from four new schools including one new specialist school as well as significant funding to expand two existing schools, announced in the state budget released today.
Staughton College will share in $56.3 million, with one other Victorian school, which will fund upgrades to provide additional capacity in order to meet enrolment demands.
Diggers Rest Primary School will receive $13.44 million to upgrade existing facilities and modernise the campus.
The Victorian government will spend $581 million on the construction of 13 new schools to be opened in 2024 across the state, with four in the Melton area.
The new schools to be built include Aintree Secondary School, Brookfield Primary School. Truganina North Primary School and a new specialist school in Aintree.
The budget also includes funding for the land acquisition of future schools in Cobblebank, Truganina and Fraser Rise.
The state government funded a total of $1.6 billion in the new budget for new schools, increasing school capacity, school upgrades and maintenance.
Victorian education minister James Merlino said the government planned to provide a first-rate local school for every family in Victoria.
“Every parent wants to give their kids the best start in life, but you can’t get a first-rate education in a second-rate classroom,” Mr Merlino said.
“In the past eight years, we’ve delivered more than 1,850 upgrades to schools across Victoria. We’re on track to deliver 100 schools by 2026, with another 14 set to open in 2024.”
For infrastructure in Melton, the state budget also announced a road duplication upgrades to the Melton Highway in Plumpton.
Funding was also announced for several water infrastructure projects in the Melton area.
