LOCAL Member for Light Tony Piccolo has accused the State Government of not being upfront with its consultation process for new school in-take zones.
Proposed new zones, including for the new Angle Vale birth to year 12 school, as well the existing Angle Vale Primary, Mark Oliphant College and Gawler & District College, were made available for the public to view and provide feedback on, at the start of May.
Mr Piccolo said the public was given little to no warning for when the consultation would begin, and then had just 12 days to provide feedback after the formal public consultation phase closed on May 19.
“The zone announcement appears to be a final decision rather than a draft inviting genuine community participation,” Mr Piccolo said.
“During the turbulent time that is the COVID-19 pandemic, you would think that the Marshall Liberal Government would have provided schools and families with more time to consider the proposal, given the shutdowns and restrictions already placed on schools.”
The draft plans, on the Department of Education’s website, show the new Angle Vale senior school zone stretching between Thompson Beach, Virginia, and Hillier Park and Munno Para Downs.
Meanwhile, the Gawler & District College zone has been significantly reduced to generally only include areas within the Gawler Council area, as well as nearby Concordia, Kalbeeba, Bibaringa, Hewett, Gawler Belt and Kangaroo Flat.
Mr Piccolo said clarity is needed on how the State Government planned to implement the new school zones and the effect it would have on the local community.
“Will the new zone split families up? Will changes in transport routes have a negative impact on nearby schools, including the larger Mark Oliphant and Gawler & District colleges?” he said.
Mr Piccolo said that what appears to be lacking is a plan or proposal to provide public transport to and from the new school.
“If the minister expects parents to make decisions about which school to send their children to, you would think transport would be an important consideration,” he said.
“What is the Marshall Liberal Government’s plan for public transport?
“Some local residents have stated they have not been consulted with and are concerned about potential risks to the (Angle Vale) school, including dust storms and fires.
“You would think the government would consult with local Members of Parliament, but both the Member for Taylor, Jon Gee, and myself have not been consulted on a long-term piece of critical infrastructure.”
Acting education minister Rob Lucas said the new Angle Vale B-12 School will deliver state-of-the-art education facilities that will bring immense benefits to the community and support many local jobs.
“Development of the proposed school zone, and changes to the existing school zones, have been based on sophisticated analysis which consider a range of factors including accessibility by road, current and projected demand, existing school locations and current and future housing developments,” he said.
“Information about the proposed zone has been available to the public, including online maps and a summary of the proposal, and feedback has been sought from local principals and education directors.
“Mr Piccolo is welcome to raise any concerns he has directly with the government at any time.”
Mr Piccolo is encouraging any concerned people to raise their views with the Member for Taylor’s Office or his own.