A sea of autumn leaves covers the abandoned grounds at Elmhurst primary school. The mildew-covered playground is still, the buildings neglected. The tagline on the skip bin – loaded with school supplies – reads: “Making a sustainable future possible.” The irony is not lost.
At the only shop in Elmhurst, a man named Cole says there’s “no infrastructure to bring in new families”.
“You’re not going to get any young people with young kids coming to the town,” he adds. “There’s just nothing for them here. People accepted the closure. It happens, and it’s going to keep happening.”
Elmhust primary school is in the Pyrenees, about an hour’s drive north-west of Ballarat and 14km from the nearest primary school. It formally closed its doors in March after a two-year de-staffing period. De-staffing occurs – as per school council recommendation – when there are low or unconfirmed enrolments, meaning schools can reopen should local demand increase.
Natalie Attard was on the Elmhurst primary school council when her daughter Sienna started prep in 2020. She was one of only three students at the school. Attard’s family moved from Melbourne to nearby Glenpatrick for a tree change. They did not know the school was on the verge of closing.
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“Everybody seemed to know except for us,” she says. “My husband, John [Lukic], and I felt really silly after we tried so hard to keep the school open. It was an awful experience.”
When the school closed, Attard and Lukic enrolled Sienna in St Mary’s primary school in Ararat. But the one-hour bus ride and larger classroom sizes were overwhelming for their daughter.
Sienna now attends Amphitheatre primary school, 14km up the Pyrenees highway, where the enrolments sit at 14. Attard says the family is happy to have moved back to a rural school and to see their daughter thriving again.
“Rural schools provide children with a different learning experience and much more opportunities which we felt were not available in mainstream schools,” Attard says.
“When I drop Sienna off, it’s like dropping her off to a family member.
“If we don’t have these local schools available, children and families have to travel significant distances to attend a primary school. Or alternatively, families would not be able to live in these small rural towns.”
The ‘glue in a small community’
Elmhurst is the 10th primary school in regional Victoria to close in the past five years. The schools in Yaapeet, Drummond, Dixons Creek, Katunga , Meerlieu, Devon North, Invergordon, Nowa Nowa and Baringhup have shut.
Cathy McCallum says the community of Baringhup in central Victoria is still grieving the loss of their primary school, which was de-staffed in 2017 before officially closing. The nearest schools, in Maldon and Carisbrook, are 10km and 18km away.
McCallum was a teacher at Baringhup primary school and lived in the community for 20 years, working alongside her husband, Bill. Now retired, the 76-year-old has since moved to Ballarat.
An influx of people moving to the rural town, including a number of young families, gave locals hope that the school may reopen. But McCallum says this hasn’t eventuated and deems the community is weaker for it.
“Experience tells us that local schools attract a greater number of parent and community volunteers to raise funds and support learning in a variety of ways,” she says.
McCallum believes rural schools are the “glue in a small community” and, if adequately funded, can provide a great education.
Meerlieu primary school in the state’s east was de-staffed in 2015 before formally closing. The next closest schools are 20km away.
Alex Baxter, now 29 and a teacher, is a past student. Her family still lives in Meerlieu. The school closed not long after her youngest sister graduated.
“We loved the small school because of the community,” she says. “The fact we didn’t have to drive half an hour to school each day was also a bonus.”
The Victorian Department of Education says 75 schools are scheduled to open between 2019 and 2024. Just six are in regional Victoria.
A government spokesperson said the department worked closely with small schools to make sure they could meet the needs of their communities and deliver a comprehensive education.
“If a school is no longer required to meet the community’s needs it is up to the school council to propose to the department that it be de-staffed or subsequently closed,” the spokesperson said.
But Attard says she and Lukic felt they were left with “no choice” but to take Sienna out of the school and vote for Elmhurst primary to be closed.
“I appreciate that it costs a lot of money to operate a school, and in the eyes of the department they may consider it’s not worth keeping these schools open for a small number of kids,” Attard says. “They seem to be concerned about what is best for the pocket and not what it means to these children and their communities.”
McCallum shares a similar sentiment, saying her school’s closure has cast a lasting shadow over the community.
“Baringhup primary was a really important part of the town,” she says. “We are really grieving in many ways. It was a real punch in the guts and had a devastating impact on everyone.
“The school provided a refuge for students. The building left now is a constant reminder of just what has been lost. It’s sad.”
Dellaram Vreeland is a journalist in Ballarat, Victoria
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