A P&C committee member at a Wagga primary school in danger of closing its doors has issued an SOS letter in an appeal to help save their child’s school.
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Dwindling numbers at Collingullie Public School has sparked community concern, with reports of just four students currently in attendance.
The letter states that “enrollments are critically low” and that “closure is indeed a possibility.”
The letter continues on, begging for community members to gather ideas to save the school.
“While the primary concern here is the maintenance of this excellent educational facility for our children and future generations, the impact of such a closure would have far reaching negative effects which will ripple through the district,” the letter reads.
A Department of Education spokesman did not respond to the letter’s claims, reinforcing that Collingullie Public remained a fully-resourced and operation school.
“The Department of Education remains committed to meeting the education needs of the local community,” the spokesman said.
A Collingullie resident of 23 years, Margaret Marr, said it would be a shame to see the school go.
“It’s such a shame if they’re struggling for numbers because it has such a strong history,” Ms Marr said.
“From what I hear, it has a great reputation and terrific teachers; a smaller school can be such a benefit.
“If I was a young mother here I would want my children to attend Collingullie Public.”
Fellow community member Jim Schnepf, who has resided in Collingullie for 13 years, said the community has always rallied behind the school.
“My children were at high school when they moved to the area so they unfortunately couldn’t attend the school,” Mr Schnepf said.
”I’m sure people will fight to keep it there because it’s done a lot of good.”
Mr Schnepf said dwindling numbers may be a result of most of the students parents working within Wagga.
“There’s always new people moving to town with young kids though, so it would be a shame for them to have to struggle for fuel or put their kids on a bus,” Mr Schnepf said.
Collingullie Public is not the first Riverina school to face closure fears recently, with the Grong Grong community battling to save its school since 2013.
