A CONCERNED mother is pleading with the State Government to halt the suspension of the Nangwarry Preschool, after it was determined too few children had enrolled for next year.
Despite securing six enrolments for 2020, the Nangwarry Preschool committee has been told two were ineligible.
The State Government policy states the preschool requires at least two more enrolments to secure funding.
Education Minister John Gardner has shot down options floated by the Nangwarry Primary and Preschool Governing Council, including an integrated learning program which would combine preschool children with the primary school cohort.
Mr Gardner said the available alternatives Penola’a McKay Children’s Centre and Kalangadoo Kindergarten meant the Nangwarry facility did not requirements for the program.
Nangwarry resident Bec Tasker said if the Nangwarry preschool was to close, her five children would be attending three different educational facilities in Penola, Nangwarry and Mount Gambier.
“I have some children who go to Nangwarry Primary School and I will have some children who have chosen to go to Grant High School next year,” Ms Tasker said.
“Now because the preschool is suspended, my youngest will have to go to McKay’s Childrens Centre in Penola, meaning I will be doing three drop offs each day.”
Ms Tasker claimed she would be unable to work as a result of the extra travel time and raised further concerns about the cost to the family.
“There is going to be a significant amount of money we are going to have to spend on fuel now,” she said.
“If the preschool was still here in Nangwarry, I would be able to work again because I could drop my youngest off while I drop my other children off and take my older ones to the bus stop before going to work.
“By the time I do the school drop offs and pick ups it will leave almost no time for me to work in between.”
Ms Tasker was advised her youngest daughter – who is four years old – would be permitted to travel on a school bus to Penola.
“There is no way I am comfortable putting a four year old on a bus with nobody she knows,” she said.
Ms Tasker praised the small town’s preschool and said it provided her four eldest children with unique learning opportunities.
“We loved the idea of the preschool and the primary school being so close together because they get that interaction with the older kids,” she said.
“By the time they start school they have relationships with the older children in class.
“When our daughter comes back to primary school, she might only know one other child who also had to go to Penola which could put her at a disadvantage.”
Nangwarry Preschool Governing Committee chairperson Rebekah Wettles struck out at the government’s move to close the facility and said it stemmed from a lack of understanding of regional communities.
She said the Education Department’s initial idea to move preschool children to the Kalangadoo Kindergarten would be an inconvenience to parents.
“Most parents work in either Mount Gambier or Penola,” she said.
“To go to Kalangadoo which is in the opposite direction is out of the way for most parents so it is not an effective solution.”
“We do feel as if they are trying to close small schools down which is extremely disappointing.”
Member for MacKillop Nick McBride said while the future of preschool services at Nangawarry was “obviously disappointing”, decisions are made at the discretion of the Education Director.
According to Mr McBride, the Education Director believes students will be better off attending a stand alone service compared with an integrated service.
He said he had advocated about the importance of preschool services to the Nangwarry community and would continue to work with Mr Gardner to find the best possible outcomes for parents and students.
The governing council have started a petition to bring back the service to the small town with a view to present it to the State Government.
