Independent school seeks council support

Councillors have controversially accepted a request from a private group seeking access to Murrumbateman land to establish an independent school.

Yass Valley Council resolved at its meeting on Wednesday that it would support Mt Carmel College Ltd, in principle only, in its bid to access 10 hectares of council land north of the Recreation Ground.

Council General Manager David Rowe’s report called the proposal to have a school constructed on the site by 2018 “ambitious”. Nevertheless, he recommended supporting it.

Councillor Michael McManus pushed for in-principle support for five years, as long as there was  significant advancement in the project within that time.

Mt Carmel College Ltd will meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue and whether it goes far enough for them to attract investors.

Councillors Greg Butler, Geoff Frost and Jasmin Jones voted against the motion.

Their main concern was the potential competition with another lobby group calling for a publicly-funded Murrumbateman Primary School.

The second group is an initiative of Murrumbateman Progress Association.

Chair of Mt Carmel College Ltd and former Council Director of Planning, Paul De Szell, addressed the meeting, explaining the company is independent of Mt Carmel Catholic School in Yass.

“This story started in October last year when we were denied access to the Mount Carmel school buildings. That was a watershed for us… We had two options; pack up our bags and go home, or come up with a grandiose vision and build a new school.

“It’s been an exhaustive process of finding the best site for this project, but all roads ended up at Murrumbateman… The land there is excellent, and the community is even better.”

“That was a watershed for us… We had two options; pack up our bags and go home, or come up with a grandiose vision and build a new school.” – Paul De Szell

He said the intention was to build a K-12 independent ecumenical school on the land by January 2018.

Mt Carmel College Ltd has faced an uphill battle to establish an independent school in the Yass Valley since the sudden and devastating decision by the Catholic Education Office (CEO) to close Mt Carmel Secondary School in Yass last year.

The current NSW Government has indicated that a public primary school was not likely until 2026 or beyond.

Country Labor candidate for Goulburn Ursula Stephens has pledged $25m to establish a public primary school in Murrumbateman if Labor is elected tomorrow.

But Cr McManus (a staunch Labor supporter)  preferred not to have to wait for that when a significant proposal was before them right now.

“This group [Mt Carmel College Ltd] gives some certainty. They are the only ones [before us] with a piece of paper on the table right now,” he said.

“Mt Carmel College Ltd  are the only ones before us with a piece of paper on the table right now.” – Cr McManus

He clarified he was under no conflict of interest as husband of Mount Carmel Primary principal Gaye McManus, as Mt Carmel College Ltd was an independent company.

“If Labor wins, I’ll be doing the exact same thing to ensure a public school happens at Murrumbateman – I’ll support that as much as I support this motion.”

But Cr Jones said while this group’s proposal was exciting, she was concerned MABPA had not had the opportunity to provide a joint proposal to council.

Cr Frost agreed, saying “the ideal situation is to put these two groups together” on the Murrumbateman land, but not until both groups were agreed and integrated.

“The moment we go through with this, we will cause Murrumbateman to feel put-upon. This changes the balance of power between Murrumbateman [public school proponents] and Mt Carmel College Ltd.

“This changes the balance of power between Murrumbateman public school proponents and Mt Carmel College Ltd.” – Cr Frost

Cr Butler was concerned with council “cementing” a relationship with an individual group when there were other groups interested in building a school at Murrumbateman, particularly in light of state election commitments.

“This is a case of the early bird trying to catch the worm,” he said.

“This is a company, not a government organisation… Part of the process should be in-principle support for anyone who wants it.”

Mayor Rowena Abbey said with 300ha of Murrumbateman council land available, there was sure to be room enough for additional schools in the future.

Director of Planning and Environmental Services, Chris Berry, confirmed a standard school size was five hectares, and the area proposed by Mr De Szell was 10 hectares, and that council was looking at acquiring 30 hectares. But he advised councillors against co-locating all educational facilities in one spot.

Councillor Ann Daniel abstained from the debate because she is a board member of Mt Carmel College Ltd.

–  Katharyn Brine and Karan Gabriel

Mt Carmel College Ltd Chair Paul De Szell returned to Yass this week to ask council to allow land for an independent K-12 school in Murrumbateman. PHOTO Katharyn Brine