Hume will need 21 schools in the next 20 years, according to new statistics – and the council is pushing the state government for the money to make it happen.
Hume mayor Helen Patsikatheodorou said Craigieburn, Greenvale, Mickleham and Sunbury required new schools to cater for a huge rise in population.
“Hume council stands ready to help the state government as it considers new education centres,” she said. “Hume has provided data to the state government which demonstrates the demand for new schools in our community.
“We want to work alongside government officials as they plan the schools that can educate our youngest residents in the decades ahead.”
Hume and Whittlesea are among the fastest-growing municipalities in the state, but neither has the educational infrastructure to meet demand, a recent analysis by the Grattan Institute found.
Hume will need 467 new classrooms to cope with estimated projected growth in primary school and secondary school populations of 39.3 per cent and 25.3 per cent respectively in the next decade.
The institute’s analysis also found Whittlesea would need more than 750 new classrooms to cope with an estimated 56.7 per cent growth in primary school enrolments and 57.8 per cent growth in the secondary school population.
Cr Patsikatheodorou said she was pleased with the state government’s commitment to a new primary school in the Newbury area.
“The primary school in the Newbury neighbourhood of Craigieburn will support hundreds of families in Hume … it’s a critical investment,” she said.
“The number of primary school-age children in Hume will rise by 65 per cent between now and 2035, and the volume of secondary school-age children will expand by 51 per cent across the same period.
“This represents an extra 12,765 primary school-age children and an additional 8459 secondary school age students.
“Now is the time for the state government to set money aside for the future education of Hume’s young people because our municipality is one of the fastest-growing communities in Australia.”
