Labor argue that we need an inner city school, but it doesn’t stack up. There are only 200 school age students in the city. The school that is really struggling to cope is Churchlands, a long way from the CBD and headed for 3,000+ students unless something changes fast.
However the overcrowded and fastest growing schools are in solid Liberal held seats with 20% margins (blue area). Does Labor care about these voters (or their children)? Instead they are moving a school that doesn’t want to be moved, destroying the heritage and community there, building a new expensive rental high rise school where there are hardly any kids, and appear to be selling the reputation of the top public school in the state to marginal voters in the seat of Perth. (Marked in red).
This is cynical politics at its worst. Labor is trying to buy votes at the expense of thousands of students.
Student numbers: Churchlands (2,437), Shenton College (1,940), Mt Lawley (1,556), Perth Mod (1,336). Looking at trends, Mt Lawley is barely growing, unlike the big two. From 2015-2016, growth rates: Churchlands (6.2%), Shenton College (4.8%), Mt Lawley (0.6%), Perth Mod (2.2%).
Sources: Electoral Boundaries | Political Margins (ABC) | Education Dept.
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