Student accommodation debated
Parents in Laverton have reignited discussion over the need for residential accommodation in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, estimating 20 students will move away to attend high school in the new year.
Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls and Mining and Pastoral MP Wendy Duncan visited the remote Northern Goldfields town earlier this month, meeting with residents at a community morning tea.
High school education was among the issues raised by attendees, with one mother-of-three suggesting she would need to pay $46,000 to send two of her children to boarding school next year.
Other concerns included waiting lists for hostels in Merredin and Esperance as well as the quality of education being provided by the School of Isolated and Distance Education.
Department of Education regional executive director Goldfields Larry Hamilton said seven students from Laverton Remote Community School would be attending high school elsewhere in 2013.
“Laverton Remote Community School caters for students from pre-primary to Year 12,” Mr Hamilton said. “The school currently has 17 students in Years 8 to 12 learning through the School of Isolated and Distance Education."
