pg 27 today's Sunday Herald Sun
Higher Education Push
Inner suburbs look up for schools
By Mary Papadakis
High-rise buildings could be the answer to a push for more secondary schools in Melbourne's crowded inner suburbs.
Lobby groups in Coburg and Yarraville are leading the fight for new schools, with Richmond also expected to follow.
Richmond Secondary College was one of about 350 schools closed or merged by the Kennett Government in the 1990s.
Cate Hall, co-founder of lobby groups High School for Coburg, said the suburb had no year 7-12 education options since the Bracks Government closed Moreland City College in 2004.
Ms Hall said thousands of students from Coburg, West Preston and parts of Reservoir, Pascoe Vale and Brunswick East were being forced to travel up to 50 minutes to schools such as Thornbury High.
"We call this area a black hole for state secondary education," she said.
A State Government taskforce is investing.
In Melbourne's west, SKY (Seddon, Kingsvale, Yarraville) High has also been pushing for a secondary school in Yarraville.
Students have had to travel more than 5km to Footscray City Secondary College or Williamstown High since the local high school was closed in 1996.
SKY High spokesman Martin Zakharov said while the Government had ruled out a stand-alone secondary college for now, other options included the possibility of a new prep to year 9 school.
City of Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly led a fiery campaign against the closure of Richmond Secondary in 1993.
He said local boys were the biggest losers after the closed school was turned into Melbourne Girls' College.
"There's a big hole for boys in Richmond. They've got to go to Hawthorn, Fitzroy or Collingwood," he said.
Mr Jolly said he would raise the need for a co-educational state school in Richmond at a community meeting on Thursday.
He said it was time to move on from blaming the Kennett Government for school closures and to fix the problem for future schoolchildren.
"Mr (John) Brumby has to take responsibility," he said.
Liberal education spokesman, Martin Dixon said many inner-city suburbs had experienced an influx of young families and schools were needed, with high-rise schools an option due to land shortage.
"The Government has been taken by surprise on this.
"We need to think laterally," he said.
The Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment on the inner-city school shortage.