Wee Waa High School replacement a possibility with illnesses still being investigated

Barwon MP Roy Butler hosted a meeting with more than a dozen concerned locals on Monday night to discuss the ongoing heath saga.

"It's very likely that Wee Waa is going to get a new school, and obviously there's some urgency, but we don't want to see the consultation with the community to be short cut," he said.

"That's something I'll need to take up with the Minister [for Education Sarah Mitchell]."

The school shut down late in 2020 and students were moved to Wee Waa Public School.

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It came after students were hit by a mystery illness, but how they caught it is still being investigated. It's suspected to be caused by a type of mould exposure but testing is still incomplete.

"It looks like they haven't been able to remediate the issues with dampness and mould," Mr Butler said.

There were many ideas on the table for the new school.

"We were there for almost two hours and in that time I think we went through all the emotions, like frustration, but also a positive outlook for what a new school could look like," Mr Butler said.

"There were ideas on focusing it around agriculture and aligning with industry so they could walk out of school into local employment.

"Wee Waa also has a particular skill in robotics so we were looking at that."

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the scope of the project was currently being explored, and early planning was under way.

"This means the project will be ready to go ahead should the old high school site not be able to be remediated," Ms Mitchell said.

"I've asked for the school community to be regularly updated on any developments, and that support is provided to the principals of both schools as they manage this challenge.

"Wee Waa High School principal Annabel Doust is doing an excellent job supporting her staff, students and community during this time."

Mr Butler said the health and well-being of teachers and students was the most important issue.

He said a location for the proposed new school was another topic raised at the meeting, with fears the current location has a sump which might be to blame for the health issues.

"The last thing we want to do with this much public money involved is to repeat that and build on a site which will have issues," he told the Leader.

"It'll only be once in my lifetime that Wee Waa will have the opportunity to have a new school so we want to make sure we get it right."

A project reference group has been established with representatives from the school community, with the first meeting held in early February.

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