Ballan mother Gabrielle Fidler has vowed to keep fighting for a secondary school in town after Moorabool councillors backed what she called an “outdated” structure plan.
The Ballan Structure Plan, which was put out for community consultation almost three years ago, was only adopted by councillors at a special meeting last month.
But the plan did not even consider a potential site for a secondary school in Ballan, she said, while students travel up to 100 kilometres a day for their education.
Ms Fidler said she hoped Moorabool council and the state government would soon recognise the need for a school.
“If the school was built in time for my kids, it would be a bonus,” the mother-of-two said. “But I’m being realistic … this is something for the future and something for the community.”
Ms Fidler said a secondary school would benefit teenagers coming from nearby towns, such as Mt Wallace and Gordon, as well as those from Ballan.
“It was disappointing the whole thing was rushed,” Ms Fidler said. “There was a rush to get it through before Christmas, even though it had been waiting for two-and-a-half years.
“A lot of people have moved in and out of town; Fiskville has closed down and there’s been a big loss of jobs. A school would have been a great employer; it would create quality, permanent jobs.”
Moorabool mayor Allan Comrie said the council could not lobby the state government to put a school in Ballan.
“We can’t put into the plan that we are going to build a secondary school at a particular site,” he said. “That’s something the Education Department will need to assess and decide.
“We understand where the residents are coming from, but there’s not much that can be done about it at this stage.
“The area is not a high-growth area and it will be a while before Ballan gets the kind of growth the department is looking for.”
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