By Helena Adeloju
Eastern Victoria Region MP Daniel Mulino announced $230,000 in funding for the Officer Primary School on Friday 24 March.
Mr Mulino made the announcement on behalf of Education Minister James Merlino.
He said the funds will enable the school to carry out the rejuvenation of its 30-year-old Centenary garden.
“These upgrades will make a real difference to students and staff,” Mr Mulino said.
The money for the project will be supplied by the $16 million School Pride and Sports Fund that the government announced in its Victorian Budget 2016-17.
Officer Primary School Principal Lynne Brenner said the funding announcement was welcome.
“It was quite a surprise,” she said.
“Our school council wrote to them (Department of Education) request funding last year and then all of a sudden out of the blue the announcement was made,” she said.
Although the school council’s letter hadn’t asked for a specific figure, Ms Brenner said the money will go a long way.
“$230,000 will allow us to do something bigger and better,” she said.
“However, we are aware that we need to honour the centenary rock that was placed there more than 30 years ago and the time capsule that is buried in the Centenary Garden.”
The funds will provide for preliminaries and site prep, roads, footpaths and paved areas, boundary walls, fencing and a gate, an outbuilding and covered ways, landscaping and improvements, external storm water drainage and external electric lights and power for the Centenary Garden rejuvenation project.
Ms Brenner said being one of the oldest schools in the area, it was encouraging to receive some funding for the school’s Centenary Garden which she described as “getting a bit tired”.
“It’s been very good for us and nice because we are also one of the smaller schools in the area,” she said.
