AUGUST 25, 2015 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Epping Secondary College students Chelsea, Victoria and Mikayla are jumping for joy at the prospect of renovated classrooms. (Kristian Scott)
Cash splash for schools By Lexi Cottee Dilapidated classrooms and old halls at 16 schools in Hume and Whittlesea are set for a $4.2 million makeover. Education Minister James Merlino last week announced details of a $27 million budget to renovate or refurbish ageing buildings at 153 state schools. The funding will follow a 2012 audit of every Victorian state school building and be in addition to regular maintenance funding handed out to schools annually for upkeep.
About 15 per cent of the total funding pool will be channelled into Hume and Whittlesea schools. Schools allocated the second - and third largest sums of money in Victoria are Epping Secondary College, which has been granted $860,000, and Thomastown Secondary College, with $760,000. The Epping college principal, Helene Alamidis, said the funding announcement had come as a “pleasant surprise”. She said a briefing with the Education Department later this week would confirm
LION CAR RENTAL.com.au CARS
VA N S
Short or Long Term Rentals Up to 12 seater Vehicles Passenger or Commercial Vehicles Like us on facebook for specials and deals
Open 7 days Phone: 9303 7447
SUVS
TRUCKS
R E N TA L S
CARS FROM
$23 a day No Hidden Charges T&C Ap ply
exactly how the money can be spent. The 1976-built school has 1100 students, the number growing rapidly as the suburb expands. Ms Alamidis said there were just 640 students when she took over as principal in 2009, and since then “we’ve almost doubled”. Each year the school raises money to upgrade facilities it deems most urgent. It has recently raised $500,000 to replace a turf oval with synthetic grass. “We’ve made a concerted effort to refurbish one part of the school after another,” she said. Other northern schools to be funded are
Dimboola Primary School ($59,000), Epping Primary School ($125,000), Fawkner Primary School ($22,000), Lalor East Primary School ($379,000), Roxburgh Homestead Primary ($13,000), Roxburgh Park Primary School ($335,000), Sunbury College ($586,000), Sunbury Downs Secondary ($260,000), Sunbury Heights Primary School ($184,000), Sunbury West Primary School ($89,000), Thomastown East Primary School ($334,000), Thomastown Meadows Primary School ($168,000), Thomastown Primary School ($281,000) and Willmott Park Primary School ($86,000).
LION TYRE MART High Quality, Competitive Prices, Efficient Service • 13’ TYRES FROM $55 BRAND NEW • GENERAL SERVICE FROM $80 • TAXI TYRES FROM $70 FITTED(215/60/16) • ALL MAJOR AND MINOR MECHANICAL REPAIRS
SPECIAL OFFER - 2015
Buy 4 tyres for your car and become a VIP Customer • Free Wheel Alignment • Free Wheel Rotation and Balancing every 10,000km
You save $120
Lion Car Rental Unit 5/19-25 Somerton Road, Campbellfield 9303 7447 & Lion Tyre Mart Unit 6 19-25 Somerton Road, Campbellfield 9303 7992