After months of deliberation, the Education Department has announced Gosford Public School will be relocated.
Georgi Glover has been following the story and filed this report.
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After months of deliberation, the Education Department has announced Gosford Public School will be relocated.
Georgi Glover has been following the story and filed this report.
It is a shame that none of the local media including print and tv felt it was there job to do anything more than relay the propeganda of the Gosford Challenge .
That members of the P & C were flewn to NZ to see an example of how the school would need to compromise but would be retained in the masterplan and since then there has been an out and out campaign to relocate the school has to at least raise the question ” why waste ratepayers money in the first place ? ”
Why did the campaign for relocation take off around the time the Council started to realise massive losses from its investments ( CDO’s) in the American Real Estate Market ? Is the lure of now redeveloping the school into units , not a performing arts space or car park , and mitigating its losses through the millions to be raised in developer contributions the real driving factor not good innovative urban planning ?
There school community has been consigned to crossing two single lane bridges to the new school site with the hospital , 2 high schools , a racecourse , a golf club and an industrial area competing for access and parking in a 1km square area .
Why would the education department agree to a deal that will impact heavily on access to that area for the Gopsford Public and the other groups mentioned without an agreement on for some improvement to infrastructure . That the talk now is of staggering school start times , what consideration has been given to working families ?
That there are no plans in place for the upgrade of the tow bridges beggers belief .
The Central Coast Advocate hasn’t asked the hard questions of the whole process nor the justifications for the decision . Will NBN .
Justin,
I like your conspiracy theories, but one big issue you’ve missed is that Council doesn’t own the school stie and as such obviously can’t sell the school site, the only ones who can is the State Government, so I’m not sure how you made the leap between Council CDO’s and selling something they don’t own…?
I too have followed the Challenge closely, but without any conviction either way on the school site. My issue is transport and any relocation would casue traffic issues, however the plan does clearly identify the upgrade of the Etna street bridge as a necessary project. So they’d have to rebuild the bridge first if they were to relocate the school.
All my children attend Gosford public school and we took part in the consultation process, We voted to keep the school on the current site. The Dept of education took no notice of the opinions of the parents in this decision. What a pack of money hungry bureaucrats. I am sure someone will benefit from the relocation, it sure won’t be the kids.
As I understand it students will no longer have access to playing fields (leagues club park) for recess and lunch as well as PE and sport. I’d hate to be a kid at an old school with no grass or playing fields. The school is also very small. Give me a new school any day.
Prior to Gosford Challenge, Gosford P.S. had been earmarked for a multi-million dollar upgrade & new facilities, plus the intended BER – that NOW WON’T eventuate on its current site..THANKS, Gosford Challenge!!!
As for our LABOR Governments, we can now add to the tally of them being the most WASTEFUL of all Govt’s, by them now intending to knock down part of the multi-million dollar upgrade to Henry Kendall High that they boasted about, not yet 6 years ago. ‘MOVING FORWARD’, HUH?!#@ If the Dept of Ed. had been forward/long term planning they would have seen the implications of Kariong High School and not wasted any money. A little bit of this forward planning is needed NOW to envisage the increased population that Gosford Challenge intends bringing into Gosford itself. Just wait…..This same Department of Education will be looking for another local HIGH SCHOOL site for the influx… STAY TUNED!!!
As for the DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [Hunter/Central Coast] …they are happy for newly built buildings and Basketball Courts to go ontop of Gosford’s Old Pioneer and Settler GRAVEYARD “Brady’s Gully Cemetery”, being now right underneath the converted to ‘Public School Land’, Behavioural School at NORTH GOSFORD LEARNING CENTRE, and all done without a blink of an eyelid. The school further leases the Cemetery’s General Section to the North Gosford Hospital who are carparking on top our local Pioneering families. But who can blame the Dept. of Ed.? Oh, that’s right, the same two; Gosford Council and the Lands Department, who incidentally said there were ‘NO GRAVES’ in the school section. WHOOPS!!!! They got it SO wrong!!! 500 bodies in North Gosford Behavioural School Graveyard and still COUNTING. [Oh, by the way, you won’t find headstones at this School site, GOSFORD COUNCIL REMOVED THEM ALL].
I am devastated about the news of the relocation of our school I dont want it to move i was a student there and now my kids are. I actually live out of zone and still drive my kids to and from every day. I know they are trying to fix up Gosford but look across the st at the old council building and the froggy’s site why not do something with that before taking away a school that has been there for many years. Yes Gosford is an old school but they are more up to date with technology than most of the schools around. Maybe if the government came up with a decent idea for a location for the school there might be more compromise but im sorry I dont agree with young children and high school students being in the same place and catching the same buses.
I also want to know why did we get a survey last year that had to be completed in 1 week, it was such an urgent thing, yet its taken over 6 months to get the results and now that we have they haven’t taken any notice of it 75% of us dont want the school to move, is that not saying something? and of the 25% who did want it to move, Henry Kendall was the least favoured place. I take offence to it why waste our time filling it out!!!
I know who wont be getting my vote!!!!!!
There were plans in place to upgrade Gosford School . A new classroom block backing on to Mann Street . The decrepit demountables gone . I,m also of the understanding that part of the main building was to go freeing up open space on the school site which would have negated the open space problem .
Most inner city schools in Sydney don;t have green space and are in contravention of existing DET guidelines but adapt .
The funding was there . The only problem is Gosford Public couldn’t sell enough Lamingtons this year to make a donation to Labour Party Coffers .
Conspiracy ? Probably not . Business as the Labour way ? Yes .
Anyway Gosford Council is extending Baker Steet down to the water , thought we were getting a river , they are now rezoning the school site to allow five storey buildings , there is no performing arts space on the site . The Leagues club still monopolise the entertainment dollar in the town . On and on you can go about the changes to the Masterplan even before a brick is layed .
In the end it’s about whether you blindly accept what has happened , how it happened and whether you feel morally affronted or not . Given our value systems these days , it is just a school . Traditions , history , contribution to the community and value , well we don’t really care so we get what we get .
Mind you if the Islamic Council of Australia or the Exclusive Bretheren buy the site , then we’ll all be up in arms won’t we . Just not when it’s 600 under privelaged fair dinkum Vegimites ( Black , White , Asian , Aboriginal , middeclass , working poor and on ) just not worth the effort .
if this dumb education minister does not want to listen , rally outside chris hartchers office in gosford and let him feel the heat. .everyone should have realised ofarrell was full of it. You can pay them back at the next election with the biggest swiftest kickin the backsides. . It is time the public realised politicianns are the biggest liars and bull artists on earth. ofarrellis a big disapointment in such a short time. start the campaign now to get rid of false barry and his cronies.