New school for Murrumbateman after changes to ACT enrolments
A new primary school will be funded for Murrumbateman, just months after the ACT government tightened its enrolment policies for students across the border.
NSW minister Pru Goward said the announcement came amid "growing community calls" for a local school following the change in January, which restricted the number of ACT schools NSW families could send their children to.
"A school in Murrumbateman means many children will no longer need to endure long or interstate commutes to the ACT for their education," Ms Goward said.
About 40 minutes down the road from the capital, the Murrumbateman community has been lobbying for a local school for more than a decade.
NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet confirmed funding for the school would be set aside in the NSW Budget, to be handed down next week.
While Mr Perrottet said "huge infrastructure programs and new state-wide programs get all the headlines on budget day", he described the development funding as a "great result" for Murrumbateman.
A number of NSW families had also raised concerns about transport options for their kids following the ACT changes, with students sometimes forced to take three or four connecting services to end up at school.
Meg Brighton, deputy director-general of the ACT education directorate, said the schools left open to NSW enrolments had been determined after analysis of typical interstate family transport routes.
An eduction directorate spokeswoman said the ACT held talks with NSW government in late 2017 ahead of the move.
"The pathway schools identified for NSW students currently have, and had at the time of planning, NSW students already attending them," she said.
"These arrangements will simply increase the number of NSW students attending these schools."
The priority of the ACT government was to ensure every Canberra child had a place at their local school, the spokeswoman said.
The office of education minister Yvette Berry has been contacted for comment.
More to come.