THE PRINCIPALS
STATE school principals who have referred students to Berengarra School claim it is "desperately" required.
A south-eastern suburbs principal said mainstream secondary schools did not have the human or physical resources to cope with the specials needs of students with social and emotional problems.
He referred a student to Berengarra who was having extreme difficulty coping and had physically attacked him, he said.
"I have been personally involved with [the student] for some years and I am convinced that his placement at Berengarra was the best fit."
Another principal who spoke to the Journal said news of Berengarra's closure was shocking. "We worked tirelessly to find the best possible school setting for [the student] who now attends Berengarra.
"This school has provided him the opportunities that no other school could. We witnessed his growth as an individual and the positive impact the school has made on his social, emotional, behavioural and academic needs."
A teacher, who helped one of her students secure a place at Berengarra, said it was "appalling" the only school in Victoria that provided such a unique program could close.
GOVERNMENT department process has become more important than the lives of the students it teaches, says Berengarra's principal.
Peter Heffernan labelled Berengarra as a "vital partner" with government schools.
He said two-thirds of its students were referred by principals and vice-principals of government schools and if Berengarra closed, it would draw a line through 20per cent of intervention programs in the southern and eastern regions.
"The State Government has refused to engage on these facts. Instead they declined our request [to buy or lease unused school sites] on the basis that the disposal of unused schools has a set process that cannot be altered.
"When the process of disposal becomes more important than improving educational outcomes, the Government has clearly got its priorities wrong. Where has the [Labor] party of social justice gone? Bronwyn Pike has the power to change this in an instant and we call on her to show some compassion and common sense.
"All 40 of our students have special needs and to accommodate them back into mainstream schools with the appropriate support will require a great deal of money and effort. Is the Government going to provide the support or is it just going to dump them at their nearest school?"
He said while the Government offered it a five-year lease at the former Monash Secondary School site, the deal was "unworkable".
The school's buildings were demolished and Berengarra was offered use of the oval, but it would cost $1million for new buildings.
A bank would loan Berengarra the money but only if it could secure a 10-year lease, which the Government denied as"the process of asset disposal didn't allow for an extension".
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