The burst of interest follows the school council’s appearance at a council meeting and TWiSK’s earlier coverage of the campaign.
“We’ve been busy making and taking calls,” School Council Deputy President Kara Barbuto said.
“In the same week your TWiSK story went out, we also attended the council meeting to request stronger advocacy, noting other local schools have received support. The combination of the TWiSK article and our presence at the council meeting was a great boost to our campaign!”
Last week parents met with Angelica Di Camillo, Greens candidate for Prahran, and Nina Taylor, Labor MP for Albert Park.
In coming weeks they will meet Meghan Hopper, Labor candidate for Prahran; Albert Park independent candidate Georgie Dragwidge; Liberal MPs Rachel Westaway and Georgie Crozier; federal MP Josh Burns; and the City of Port Phillip advocacy team.
The interest comes as the state election campaign begins to sharpen.
Support is mounting
The school has previously made repeated representations to Albert Park MP Nina Taylor but has missed out on upgrade funding for more than a decade.
“We’ve met again with Nina Taylor as our local MP, and the good news is that she has assured us that St Kilda Park Primary is her ‘top bid’ for funding in the next round of pre-election budget announcements.”
“While we were hoping for more concrete news, we are very grateful and reassured to be her top bid,” Barbuto said.
Meanwhile, parents have shown Greens MLC Katherine Copsey, Prahran Greens candidate Angelica Di Camillo and Albert Park Greens candidate Sonya Semmens around the school to discuss the requested upgrades.
The Greens have backed the school’s case for capital improvements, with Katherine Copsey sharing parents’ concerns about need, funding discrepancies and the potential for a new building to become a real community asset.
“The Greens haven’t made any pre-election promises yet, but parents are hopeful this will come,” Barbuto said.
Albert Park independent Georgie Dragwidge is also due to attend the school’s next parent meeting. After her own experiences with her sons’ schooling, Dragwidge has offered to include the school’s capital works project among her election priorities.
The school will also meet with the council advocacy team, who have expressed interest in ways the upgrade could be used by the broader community.
Parents also raised the issue with councillors Bryan Mears and Serge Thomann, noting several school families live on St Kilda Road, an area they say has long lacked community facilities.
With new apartments and families projected for the area, parents say there is a real and pressing need for more shared spaces. The council is also in the middle of place planning for the St Kilda Road precinct, a process inviting community input on how the area could work better for residents.
Pictured above: Cr Bryan Mears, Principal Neil Scott, Kara Barbuto and Cr Serge Thomann at the school recently.
