Transport help for Box Hill students

News Release - 4 February 1994

The State Government has accepted the case for providing assistance for former Box Hill primary school students facing difficulties travelling to Box Hill North and Kerrimuir primary schools.

The Government will provide a special lump-sum grant to Kerrimuir primary school to enable the school, in conjunction with Box Hill North primary school, to provide transport assistance to the affected families.

The Member for Box Hill, Mr Robert Clark, has welcomed the Government's decision.

"The decision on school consolidations last year ensured that Box Hill children would be able to attend schools with strong student numbers and a broad range of subject opportunities, but transport was always a big concern.

"The Minister gave a commitment at that time that if there were any major transport difficulties encountered as a result of his decision he would look sympathetically at a proposal to provide a bus to the school community affected.

"Since then the schools have investigated numerous transport options and gathered information on transport needs, which I have put to the Government.

"I'm delighted that the Government has acted on the case presented to it that there are a significant number of families of children formerly attending Box Hill Primary School who now live a fair distance from the nearest school and who were having transport difficulties.

"The Quality Provision program was always about providing the best possible educational opportunities to our children, not about imposing burdens on families, and this grant helps ensure that Box Hill children can have those opportunities without hardship for their families."

Mr Clark said he understood that the schools intended to use the grant to acquire a bus which they would operate to provide a shuttle service to and from the schools. The schools would also engage a bus company to start a shuttle service immediately until the schools' own bus was operational.