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Bush education


I don't have a new series to run but have a plethora of towns that have not yet been posted over at 100 towns.  So thought I would work my way through these at the same time as mulling over life in the bush.

Now this sign at the school of Rockley amused me.  Why would a school in a town of with a population of less than 200 people and with just 16 students need to advertise so stridently. Surely every kid within cooee of the town goes there as a matter of course and their Mum and Dad know when it's time to enrol the kids.

This made me dig in a little further.  According the myschools website they have 1 teacher and 2 non-teaching staff (1.2 Full time equivalent). Enrollment has grown from 9 in 2009 to 16 in 2011.  That is 78% growth - enough to make any marketing manager proud. They are big into marketing at this school, the fence boasted other signs about them being sun smart and into healthy food.  The neat and tidy website talks of other amenities such as iPads, an electronic whiteboard, individual musicianship classes, having an environmentally sensitive garden and orchid and special robotics and CAD lessons.  Clearly these kids are getting  quality education.

I note the construction work going on.  Like nearly every school in the country they have building scheme sponsored by the Building Education Revolution.  $250,000 for a new school room according to the BER website. Is this expenditure economic use of public funds?

Rockley is a beaut little town 33kms from Bathurst, another delightful touristy spot that was once big and now is small.   The whole village is listed by the National Trust.  Visit Rockley over at 100 towns.

Comments

  1. JulieApril 24, 2012 at 8:51 PM

    Depends. What do they use the school room for? Is it their technology room? I don't know how one works out value for money. I don't know what is a good use of public funds. There is always something better that the funds could be used for I guess.

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