Grong Grong has pleaded for a stay of execution over the town's ill-fated public school.
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The school, which is now closed, is earmarked for sale by the education department – but concerned locals are adamant its time is not yet up.
Grong Grong Progress Association president Bob Manning has demanded a moratorium be set on the sale of the school.
“It would stop everything until the matter is resolved through adjudication,” he said.
“We are hopeful our member of Parliament (Katrina Hodgkinson) will fight with us on that to keep the school.”
However, the chances of securing the moratorium look unlikely.
The campaign suffered a blow ahead of the election when the education minister and former local member, Adrian Piccoli, ruled it out.
Member for Cootamundra Katrina Hodgkinson said she would make representations to Mr Piccoli at the request of the progress association.
Ms Hodgkinson said Grong Grong preferred to keep the school remain a community asset.
“They would rather see it kept there for the long-term,” she said.
The reasons for that, Mr Manning argued, was that Grong Grong was experiencing “generational change” – a situation whereby younger families were moving to the town.
He said three new families had moved onto nearby farms in recent months.
“The population of our state is going to rise in the city and rural areas,” he said.
“They will go to areas like Grong Grong and we will need that school back.”
An audit of the school in 2013 revealed the school had a potential enrolment of just two students.
The education department said the school had an estimated running cost of $250,000 a year.
Mr Manning said the department has in the past been forced to re-open schools due to population increases.
He rejected the idea that it was not an inconvenience for students to travel on a bus to the nearest school in Narrandera and Matong.
“There are 25 or 26 kids under the age of five already living here,” Mr Manning said.
“That’s only going to increase.”
The future of the school was a local issue in the last state election. Labor candidate for Cootamundra, Charlie Sheahan, contested the school had up to $300,000 worth of federal government investment that could be wasted.