The small community of Devenish is fighting to save its 147-year-old primary school from closure.
When the Ensign was initially contacted by local resident Chris Gregory, in November, he said the community had felt blindsided by news the school could close.
He said all they were asking for was time to try to save the school, and if after 12 months their efforts had been in vain they would take it on the chin.
In the ensuing month, residents had contacted newly elected state Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland to seek support.
They have also been informed that the school council has voted to close the school, which the Department of Education has confirmed.
The DoE, however, has also confirmed that a formal decision to close the school has not been made, but is being considered.
With Ms Cleeland still in the process of being sworn into her new position, state Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy visited the town on Tuesday, December 13, on her behalf, to hear residents’ concerns.
He will then take those concerns to fellow Nationals MP Ms Cleelend, who has promised to visit Devenish herself in the next week, once she has been officially sworn in.
“What I’m really concerned about is that the community haven’t been heard regarding the closure of the school,” Mr McCurdy said.
“The education department might say that they’ve spoken to school council … but at the end of the day, it’s the community that suffers if the school closes.
“We know once schools like this close they’ll never open again.
“So it’s not about the three or six people who have voted on this. This is about the community, and I want to know when they’re going to be asked what their opinion is.”
The community group fighting to save the school has gained more than 200 signatures on a petition asking for the school to remain open.
This week Mr Gregory told the Ensign local residents were concerned that if the school closed then Devenish would start to die.
He said they had gained support from residents of St James, which had already lost its local primary school.
Residents of both towns fear not having a local school will be a barrier to new families moving in.
“(More than 200 signatures on a petition) is quite substantial given the size of the town here,” Mr McCurdy said.
“Yes, we know we’ve got challenges with the amount of kids that are able to come to this school at the moment.
“But we’ve got to look a bit further into the future, otherwise we’ll be closing more schools like this.
“And we’ll all end up in regional cities, and that’s not what we want.”
Mr McCurdy said a trip into Benalla and back each day was a big ask for primary-aged local kids.
“Also, people forget that schools like Devenish can be a great opportunity for kids who don’t manage as well in the bigger schools,” he said.
“The bigger schools are not suited to everybody.
“In my electorate, some people take their kids out of the big towns to go to the small ones, as the kids get more one-on-one attention, which is suitable and fit for purpose for that child.”
He pointed to a minibus service in his electorate that takes students from Wangaratta to schools in smaller towns each day.
“That could be easily funded here,” he said.
“That’s not a difficult task. If you get six or seven extra kids, funding goes to the school, then they can use that funding to help kids come out from Benalla.
“That’s what Annabelle will be pushing, and to make sure we get a good and a fair hearing.
“Because at the moment it appears to me they’ve been bullied by the education department, and they’re not happy with that.
“It’s not the education department’s decision to make a town like Devenish start to fade into the shadows.”