EDUCATION and community leaders in Moorabool fear local students attending Mowbray College will be left in the lurch once the school closes tomorrow.
Bacchus Marsh Grammar principal Andrew Neal said his school had been swamped with inquiries from anxious Mowbray parents following the announcement that it would go into voluntary administration.
Mr Neal said that with dozens of Moorabool students attending Mowbray’s three campuses, Bacchus Marsh Grammar would simply not be able to accommodate many pupils. He said it already had a waiting list of 400 students.
“We’ve been in touch with the liquidator to discuss what we can do for VCE students,” Mr Neal said. “While this is absolutely shattering and a tragedy for the Mowbray community, the real issue is that the western suburbs are not being supported with the infrastructure they need for the growth going on out this way.”
Click on the image below for a gallery on the Mowbray crisis.
Mr Neal said that with close to 200 jobs being lost at Mowbray, the effects would ripple through the outer-west over the next few months.
“This is a huge issue for western Melbourne.”
A Bacchus Marsh mother, who did not want to be named, said she had secured a place at another school for her daughter. “I’m really angry and I don’t really want to talk about it any more.”
Bacchus Marsh Coaches general manager Sue McKenzie said the company operated 12 services to Mowbray from Bacchus Marsh and surrounding areas. She said she was worried about the effects of the school’s closure on the bus company’s 80 staff.
“We have thought about the effects on our staffing. We need to consider for everyone concerned what the future will be. The students need to go somewhere else so there may be extra routes added.”
