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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018 THE AGE 3NEWS

‘If I could fly, it would be the perfect school’

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Seabrook Primary

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AlamandaK-9 College

Altona GreenPrimary

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P R I M A R YB O U N D A R Y

Henrietta Cook

Pablo Feruglio, with son Eliott, struggles to contain his frustration with the inflexible drawing of school enrolment boundaries. Photo: Jason South

The most infuriating moment ofEliott’s commute to school comeseight minutes after he has left home.

That’s when he passes SeabrookPrimary, a school the six-year-oldcan’t attend because he lives outsideits zone.

A glitch in Victoria’s enrolmentrules means Eliott has to travel10 kilometres by car to access his‘‘neighbourhood’’ school, AltonaGreen Primary.

‘‘Sometime it takes us 40 minutes,sometimes it takes 38 minutes,’’ thegrade 1 student says.

As the crow flies, Eliott lives akilometre from his school. But asprawling wetland separates hisPoint Cook home from theschoolyard and there’s no directroad access.

It’s a scenario that plays outacross Melbourne, a city whereinvisible lines hike up propertyprices, spark grassroots communitycampaigns and upend manyfamilies’ lives.

The Education Department saysit may take into account majorgeographic features including riversand creeks when determiningenrolment boundaries.

But The Age has spoken tofamilies who say eight-lanehighways, streams, golf courses andeven an RAAF base have beenignored.

Sometimes the so-called closestschool is not that close at all.

As we grind to a halt on PointCook Road in Melbourne’s west,Eliott’s father Pablo Ferugliostruggles to contain his frustration.

‘‘The policy is designed so familiesgo to the school that is closest tothem,’’ he says.

‘‘But no one has looked at howfamilies access that school. If I couldfly it would be the perfect school.’’

Every metropolitan school has anenrolment boundary, which iscalculated using a straight line, orhow the crow flies.

These lines are drawn up usingVoronoi polygons (a shape thatreflects the halfway point between aschool and surrounding schools)and mapping software.

When enrolments soar and aschool nears capacity, morerestrictive enrolment zones are put

into place. These bar students fromattending the school if they liveoutside the zone.

The Education Department saysthe zones are calculated byconsidering a family’s distance andaccess to a school.

On the other side of town, in thenorth-eastern suburb of Bellfield,Rebecca Armstrong is alsoexasperated. Her daughter Olive,who starts prep next year, has beenassigned a state school that is notthe most convenient.

While Charles La Trobe P-12College’s Olympic Village inHeidelberg West might be theclosest school as the crow flies, busyBell Street stands between thefamily’s home and the school. ‘‘Iwould like her to be able to walk toschool but it’s too dangerous,’’ shesays.

She says the most convenientschool is Ivanhoe Primary.Unfortunately, she lives a few housesoutside its zone.

Joe Hurley, an urban planning

expert at RMIT, says the currentrules can lead to perverse allocationsof students to schools.

‘‘The closest school may not be theeasiest school to get to,’’ he says.

He says if the department wantsto encourage families to walk, cycleor catch public transport to school,they should allocate the closestschool based on these routes.

Mr Feruglio fired off emails todepartment bureaucrats and arguedthat his son should be allowed toattend Seabrook Primary.

‘‘We are concerned that thissituation will negatively impact onthe education of our son and makeour family life extremelychallenging,’’ he wrote.

He also sent them maps of hisdaily commute to prove that it wasthe most convenient school.

But his pleas were unsuccessful.‘‘They told me about their straight

line policy. They draw a line on themap, and if you are on one side yougo to school A.’’

The family has tested out different

routes and modes of transport toschool.

Walking takes 37 minutes andcycling 20 minutes. These optionsare not viable because of work andother childcare commitments.

An alternative route by car takesthem past Carranballac P-9 College,another school they are zoned out of.

According to a departmentspokesman, the current policystrikes a balance between ensuringfamilies can attend the local schooland also have the option of enrollingat other schools when there is room.

‘‘There are some historicalanomalies and quirks in schoolboundaries, so the system is notcompletely uniform across the state,yet the existing boundaries are wellunderstood at a local level,’’ he says.

Mr Feruglio says he’s not chasinga better school.

He’s impressed by the teachers atAltona Green Primary and Eliott ishappy.

‘‘These are all good schools. Thisis purely about logistics.’’

Premier ‘made secret fire deal’From Page 1

‘This a low point forunion relations with

the state government.’Peter Marshall, UFU Victorian secretary

In a bulletin issued to United Fire-fighters Union members yester-day, Mr Marshall said the unionhad been assured it would be con-sulted prior to the appointment ofthe next chief of the MetropolitanFire Brigade.

“The UFU was not consultedand is yet to be officially informedthat Mr Stephens has been appoin-ted,” the bulletin said.

The union’s Victorian leadersays the man chosen for the MFB’stop job has a “union-busting,budget-breaking” track record inhis previous job as fire chief in thenorthern English city of Liverpool.

Within hours of the news of MrStephens’ appointment to theMFB yesterday, Mr Marshall wason the attack, saying the formerchief officer of the Merseyside FireBrigade had presided over savagecuts to firefighter numbers.

Mr Marshall also alleged thatfire deaths in the Liverpool areahad doubled during Mr Stephen’stenure.

According to the Liverpool Echonewspaper, Mr Stephens wasknown for his fierce opposition togovernment-imposed budget cuts.

Both the MFB and EmergencyServices Minister Mr Merlino saidyesterday their new man had a re-cord of advocating for his work-

forces. MFB board president Jas-mine Doak said Mr Stephens had awealth of experience in firefight-ing, emergency services and withunions.

‘‘Dan has a great relationshipwith the [Fire Brigades Union] inthe UK ... He works in a unionisedworkforce and he knows how im-portant that is,’’ Ms Doak said.

Mr Marshall will gather hismembers on Monday for a largemeeting to discuss the new ap-pointment.

The union leader wrote in hisbulletin: “The UFU has seriousconcerns about the appropriate-ness of the appointment as we donot want to import the British fireservices culture of forfeiting safeworking conditions and firefighterpositions for pecuniary purposes.”

Mr Marshall earlier had a clearwarning to the Andrews’ govern-ment that there was trouble com-ing if it persisted with hiring MrStephens.

“We are surprised that a LaborAndrews government would sup-

port the appointment of Mr Ste-phens, who has reportedly beenparty to union-busting tactics,” MrMarshall wrote.

“This is a low point for unionrelations with the Andrews gov-ernment and will be a defining mo-ment in the short and long-termrelationship.”

But Mr Merlino said: “We havealways been determined that awide-ranging search would beundertaken to find the best pos-sible candidate for this importantrole.

‘‘A key part of Mr Stephen’s rolewill be to rebuild the relationshipbetween management and theMFB workforce.’’

NATAGE A008

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8 THE AGE FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2018 NEWS

Build three rail tunnels: councilTimna Jacks

Flinders StLaverton

Wynd’mVale

Melton

Sunbury

Bendigo

Ballarat

Geelong

Newport

Fishm’nBend

Arden

Sunshine

South.Cross

Central

Parkville Hurstbridge

Mernda

GlenWaverly

Kew, Doncaster, Ringwood

Lilydale

ClydeFrankston

PakenhamTraralgon

TullamarineCraigieburn

Seymour

Melb Metro 2Melb Metro 1

Melb Metro 3

RegionalExisting metro

IS THIS VICTORIA’S FUTURE RAIL NETWORK?

Melbourne needs two more under-ground rail tunnels by 2035 to copewith exploding population growth,the city council has proposed.

Melbourne City Council also saystrams need road and traffic lightpriority throughout the city – as inZurich – to cope with the demand.

The council has put forward itsvision to expand the city’s publictransport network, as it prepares foran extra 116,000 people taking trainsinto the city in the morning peak by

2031 – almost double the presentnumber.

Trains are overcrowded, tramsare impossibly slow and tram stopsare poorly designed and cramped,the paper says.

Nicolas Frances Gilley, the coun-cil’s transport portfolio chairman,said it was time to think seriouslyabout radically expanding Mel-bourne’s metro system.

‘‘We know that as soon as the Mel-bourne Metro Tunnel is finished, itwill relieve pressure on the CityLoop, but it will be full to capacity bythe time it comes on,’’ he said. ‘‘What

we need to be doing right now isidentify where are the new rail cor-ridors.’’

The council’s complete transportstrategy will be released later thisyear. What the council really wants

is another two underground rail tun-nels to be built by 2035.

By 2030, Melbourne Metro 2 – atunnel linking Newport to CliftonHill via Fishermans Bend – could bebuilt, the document said. If planningon this project were to start thisyear, the line could be operational by2028 or earlier, experts said.

Melbourne Metro 3 – a second air-port rail line linking to SouthernCross, via Arden Macaulay andMaribyrnong – could be built by2035, the council paper said. Theeastern end of the this line couldextend east to Ringwood.

Henrietta CookEducation editor

Parents move mountains to get in the zone

Sally and MikeConnor with theirchildren Xavier, 9,and Abigail, 11.Photo: Jason South

Sally Connor fought long and hardfor a state school in Beaumaris.

But when the new BeaumarisSecondary College was finallyannounced, her excitement turnedinto disappointment: she wasn’t inthe zone. It was a huge blow for thefamily, who had already moved fromMentone to Cheltenham to be closerto the site earmarked for the school.

“It was devastating,” Ms Connorsaid. She says she didn’t considerappealing the zoning decisionbecause she knew her chances ofsuccess were low, even though shecould have argued that BeaumarisSecondary would be the mostconvenient high school for herchildren Abigail, 11, and Xavier, 9,because it didn’t involve crossingmajor highways.

Ms Connor could have alsopointed out that she spent six yearslobbying politicians, harnessingcommunity support and securing apledge from Labor to build theschool on the former Beaumariscampus of Sandringham College.

Instead, the family moved housefor a second time, finally securing ahome within the zone. “We are hereand we are happy and that’s all thatmatters,” she said.

Last year, just 10 per cent of the266 families who appealedenrolment decisions at Victorianstate schools were successful.

‘‘Laura Simpson’’ – who doesn’t

want to use her real name becauseshe fears it could jeopardise herdaughter’s enrolment – was amongthem. She went to extreme lengthsto secure an enrolment atMelbourne Girls College after beingtold she wasn’t in the zone.

She forked out $1000 for a landsurveyor who used satellite signalsto determine the distance betweenher home in Kew and the sought-after state school.

The surveyor’s report provided

the vital evidence she needed. Itproved that Melbourne Girls Collegewas her nearest school,undermining what the EducationDepartment had told her.

“It was an amazing, and painfulexperience,” she said. “I spent sixmonths trying to get her into theschool. It took up all my time, I wasruminating about it 24 hours a day.”

Ms Simpson said she wanted herdaughter to got to Melbourne GirlsCollege because she was impressed

by its students. Her daughterwanted to learn in a single-sexenvironment alongside her friendsfrom primary school.

Parents who want to overturn anenrolment decision must first lodgean appeal with the school inquestion. If unsuccessful, they canthen appeal to the department’sregional director.

Victorian Education MinisterJames Merlino said he wanted“every Victorian government school

to be the school of choice for its localcommunity”.

The Opposition’s educationspokesman, Tim Smith, said schoolzoning rules were too confusing.

“It’s not clear which school zonesare enforceable and which aren’t,”he said. “The Andrews governmentis still working off Melways that are20 years out of date.”

When it comes to parents tryingto bend the rules, McKinnonSecondary College principal PitsaBinnion has seen it all. One parenteven created a bogus address inMcKinnon’s sought-after zone byinstalling a fake letterbox in a frontyard. “I have parents falling over infront of me begging,” she said. “It’svery traumatic to manage.”

The school knocks back 150applicants every year because theyaren’t in the zone, and about 15 ofthese families appeal to the school.Only a few are successful.

One student from a local primaryschool, who had a learning difficultyand whose friends were attendingMcKinnon Secondary wassuccessful. He had become a schoolrefuser and the school accepted hisappeal on compassionate grounds.

Another student, who had beenaccepted into the school while livingin the zone, had to move out of thearea when her father died. She wasalso successful.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Ms Binnionsaid. “You have a very clearframework but you are dealing withpeople. Behind all these names areyoung people and their families.”

NATAGE A006

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6 THE AGE SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 2018 NEWS

Call for action on bypassed schoolsHenrietta Cook

Henrietta CookEducation editor

Parents move mountains to get in the zone

SallyConnor fought longandhardfora state school inBeaumaris.Butwhen thenewBeaumaris

SecondaryCollegewasfinallyannounced, her excitement turnedintodisappointment: shewasn’t inthe zone. Itwas ahugeblow for thefamily,whohadalreadymoved from

b

tobe the school of choice for its localcommunity”.TheOpposition’s education

spokesman,TimSmith, said schoolzoning ruleswere tooconfusing.“It’s not clearwhich school zones

areenforceable andwhicharen’t,”he said. “TheAndrewsgovernmentis stillworkingoffMelways that are20yearsout of date.”When it comes toparents trying

he rules,McKinnonb

P t t i t t i th

‘If I could fly, it would be the perfect school’Henrietta Cook

Themost infuriatingmomentofEliott’s commute to school comeseightminutesafter hehas left home.That’swhenhepassesSeabrook

Primary, a school the six-year-oldcan’t attendbecausehe lives outsideits zone.Aglitch inVictoria’s enrolment

rulesmeansEliott has to travel10 kilometresbycar toaccesshis‘‘neighbourhood’’ school,AltonaGreenPrimary.

it takesus40minutes,

How The Age covered the story on Thursday and yesterday.

Choosing a school is a bit like choos-ing a restaurant, one Melbourneprincipal says.“You don’t go into the restaurant

that is almost empty,’’ he says. ‘‘Yougo to the one with people in it.”It’s a catch-22 situation.Themore

families who flock to a school, thebetter its reputation becomes andthe more funding it attracts. Butthere’s often a neighbouring schoolthat’s left behind.While the popular school is rolling

out portable buildings to accommo-date extra students and enforcingstrict enrolment zones, the forgottenschool is screaming out for children.The Melbourne principal, who

wants to remain anonymous to pro-tect his school’s reputation, seesmany students bypassing stateschools in his area, including his own.They travel great distances to ac-

cess schools in neighbouring sub-urbs, sometimes even moving houseso they can enrol at zoned schools.His observations are backed by

figures in an Auditor-General’s re-port from last year, which revealedthat more than half of Victorian par-ents are now avoiding their localstate school.“The aspirational parents do

whatever they can to get into what isperceived as the more middle-classschool,” the principal says.“The school they bypass becomes

more disadvantaged.” It’s called

residualisation. The principal is notopposed to school choice, but saysthe Education Department shouldensure enrolments are spread moreevenly.It should be capping enrolments at

large schools to prevent them grow-ing at the expense of surroundingschools, he argues.This week, The Age exposed

glitches in Victoria’s school zoning

ruleswhich are forcing some familiesto drive for 10 kilometres everymorning to get to their ‘‘neighbour-hood’’ school, passing closer schoolsthat are not in their zone.The Age also reported on the

lengths to which parents are going tosecure enrolments at zoned schools,including moving house twice andhiring land surveyors.The Australian Education Union

is now calling for a review of schoolzones and school choice to addressthe growing equity gap betweenschools. “There is a real questionabout whether we let some of ourschools get bigger and bigger and[keep] adding resources to them,while we let others become residual-ised,” says Meredith Peace, presi-dent of the union’s Victorian branch.“We want to make sure all com-

munities have strong,well-resourcedschools.”But Victorian Education Minister

James Merlino says he’s not consid-ering any changes to the Depart-ment’s enrolment rules.“We have invested a record $5 bil-

lion to make Victoria the education

state – to build and upgrade ourschools, to deliver more training andsupport to our teachers, and tomake sure every student gets thesupport they need to thrive,” he says.Our Children Our Schools, an alli-

ance of public education groups, iscampaigning for a new benchmarkfor school facilities, which spells outthe basic infrastructure every schoolshould have.The group’s president, Cate Hall,

says this benchmark would addressthe uneven playing field betweenschools and encourage more parentsto send their children to local schools.“To help even out demandwe need

more equitable school facilities provi-sion and for all schools to be fullyfunded to meet the needs of theircommunities and be schools ofchoice,” she says.Sue Bell, the president of the Vic-

torian Association of State Second-ary Principals, says many residual-ised schools have fantastic teachersand programs. “But when parentsdon’t send their kids to them, theyhave less money and can’t pull them-selves up,” she says.

Long drop may go as primaries get cash splashHenrietta Cook

Once a term, the teachers at Mid-dle Indigo Primary have to emptythe murky chambers at the bottomof the school’s long drop toilets.It’s an unpleasant task, and one

that would not be needed if theschool hada septic systemandflush-ing toilets. ‘‘I don’t think any schoolin Australia should have to put upwith pooing in a hole,’’ the school’sacting principal James Farley said.

Preps at the small rural school inVictoria’s north-east find the droptoilets daunting. They were in-stalled a decade ago to conservewater during the drought.‘‘In the so-called Education

State, teachers have to shovel ex-crement from a long drop toilet to apaddock,’’ the Opposition’s educa-tion spokesman Tim Smith said.This week, Middle Indigo Pri-

mary received a visit from the Coa-lition who pledged that if it won thestate election the school would re-

ceive flushing toilets as part of a$116,000 makeover.It was among dozens of schools

that received welcome news thisweek, as the Andrews governmentand Victorian Opposition zippedacross the state promising educa-tion spending.Yesterday, Premier Daniel An-

drews, Education Minister JamesMerlino and Member for WesternVictoria Jaala Pulford visited Bal-larat and announced $180.8 millionin next month’s budget to build,

plan and upgrade 60 regionalschools. This includes money forthe planning and construction offive new schools in some of Victor-ia’s fastest growing regional com-munities. The state budgetwill con-tain funding to build a new Arm-strong Creek West Primary Schoolin the Geelong area and Lucas Pri-mary School in Ballarat.Early work will begin on the new

Armstrong Creek Secondary Col-lege and planning will commencefor Leneva Primary School in

Wodonga East and an expansion ofMiners Rest Primary School.‘‘This is about giving regional

kids the 21st century education theydeserve – with the facilities tomatch,’’ Mr Andrews said.Back in Melbourne, Opposition

leader Matthew Guy and the Liber-al candidate for Albert Park An-drew Bond pledged that if elected,the Coalition would spend $14 mil-lion building a new performing artscentre for Albert Park College,which now has 1300 students.