Altona Meadows school zone: PV media comment

The Age reports today on the situation in Altona Meadows, in Melbourne’s west, where there are 3 government primary schools but no government secondary school.

According to the article, “Every year, families are zoned to high schools in surrounding suburbs including Laverton and Point Cook. Parents face the difficult choice of a twice-daily, one-hour round trip along the congested Point Cook Road or M1 freeway, or sending their children on a quicker but arduous bike ride around the Cheetham Wetlands.”

Parents Victoria CEO Gail McHardy is quoted in the article:

Parents Victoria chief executive Gail McHardy said there should be no barriers for families to enrol their children in local schools.

“The department needs to be responsive to local community needs, especially with problematic planning and geographical barriers,” she said.

Read the Age article

(We also published some more general comments on school zoning from our CEO Gail McHardy on 26 July, in response to an earlier article in the Age.)