Asbestos fears

By Paul Dunlop
CRAMPED conditions at Cardinia Primary School have forced classes to be held in a building containing asbestos.
The situation, labelled a potential health hazard for students and staff, was said last week to be among a litany of problems forced upon the school by inadequate classroom space.
The asbestoslined classroom is one of several older portable buildings at the school and was earmarked for replacement years ago.
Teachers and parents have called on education authorities to take immediate steps to resolve what they say has been a frustrating and ongoing problem.
Local Liberal MPs have also accused the State Government of negligence and failing to act despite knowing about the risks.
Cardinia Primary School council president Linda English said the school community had been left disappointed as it tried to resolve several concerns about adequate classroom space.
She said the portable buildings were supposed to have been temporary student accommodation during Cardinia primary’s last, muchneeded upgrade some years ago.
“We were promised they would be replaced but we are still waiting,” Ms English said.
“These portables were in a disgraceful condition when they arrived. One of these has asbestos in it which continues to peel away even after we paint over it to try to manage the problem.
“The condition of these portables has further deteriorated over the time they have been here. They are also well undersized for the classes that use them.”
Longserving principal Allan Armstrong said the school prided itself on providing a highquality “small community” education to local children.
He said enrolment numbers at the school had been capped at 150 to try and ease the pressure on facilities.
Compounding the problem was the need to meet Department of Education and Training classteacher ratios, which meant class sizes had to be constantly juggled to fit the available space.
Mr Armstrong said several planned improvements around the grounds had been put on hold while teachers and parents tried to resolve problems with student accommodation.
“We’ve been waiting and waiting but promises keep getting broken,” he said.
“This has been an ongoing drama for the school. We feel like we are getting fobbed off because we’re just a school in a little town out of the way.”
Space problems mean the school’s library is also used as a classroom, and its new IT room may have to be used as a general classroom next year.
“It’s not an ideal situation,” Mr Armstrong said. “All we want is another classroom, nothing lavish.”
Flinders MP Greg Hunt said he was outraged by Cardinia primary’s plight, while Bass MP Ken Smith said it was an example of wider concerns about maintenance at smaller schools in his electorate.
“It is a disgrace that the State Government left Cardinia Primary School with these buildings to teach from for years knowing the health risks,” Mr Hunt said.
“The fact is, asbestos poses a potentially enormous threat to the health and safety of staff and children at the school.”
A spokesperson for Education Minister Lynne Kosky said Cardinia Primary School had benefitted from more than $1 million in capital investments in the past five years.
He said any decision about additional investments would be judged – as was only fair – against statewide priorities.
It is believed the Department of Education and Training is seeking to have the school’s portable buildings replaced under round two of the state’s Portable Replacement Program.
“The department is aware of the local situation,” the spokesperson said. “The Bracks Government has invested strongly in schools in the Cardinia Shire since 1999, to a total value of more than $24 million.”