“Give us a fair go”: Rural MidCoast communities are fighting to save their schools

Two rural Mid North Coast schools are at risk of closure, with consultation currently underway between the communities and the NSW Department of Education. 

Families in the rural localities of Bobin and Upper Lansdowne, within the MidCoast local government area, have been informed by the Department their local public schools could be put into “recess” due to low enrolment numbers. 

Pending the outcome of consultation, the schools could become non-operational for a period of two years, before their status is reviewed again. 

Fires, floods and school stress: Faye Raynor-White, whose child is one of seven students enrolled at Bobin Public School, told the Mid North Coaster the potential closure would be “devastating”. 

• “Not only was the school almost entirely burned down by the [Black Summer] fires in 2019, it's also had to deal with droughts and floods as well,” she said.
  
  “Bobin, after everything it has been through, desperately needs to build community, not shut it down… The chance of opening again after a two-year period is minimal.” 

Community focus: Raynor-White said Bobin Public, opened in 1883, serves as a hub for community activities, facilitating occasional services like a mobile preschool and health initiatives, and linking transport routes for more remote areas. 

Projected enrolments, based upon siblings reaching primary school age, would take the school into double figures over the next two years. 

The unique nature of rural schools: May Slater, who has two children at Upper Lansdowne Public, said local residents are determined to keep the doors open.

• “It's been here for more than 130 years, so we have generations of people who've been to the school,” she said. 

With current enrolments at 10, attendance numbers have fluctuated over the years, but Slater fears losing the younger demographic entirely if the closure goes ahead. 

• “There won't be any incentives for young families to move out here,” she said. 

Slater also raised concerns over longer travel times and the loss of small-group learning opportunities presented by rural schools. 

• “Even though these schools are small, they play a really amazing role in public education. 

“For some kids who may otherwise fall through [the cracks], these small schools are incredible.”

With the two communities given just weeks to prepare evidence for the consultation process, Slater has called on the Department to give the schools a “fair go”.

Does recess mean closure?: According to Department policy, a school may be placed in recess when its “ongoing viability is in question” or when an “alternative educational provision offers significant advantages”. 

A school’s status is reviewed at least every two years. 

Once recessed, the feasibility of reopening a school is evaluated when there is a “strong indication from demographic trends that there will be a viable and sustained increase” in enrolments. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Education told the Mid North Coaster: 

• “A sustained decline in enrolments can lead to consultation regarding a school’s future educational provision… Key to any decision is consideration of the best educational interests of students, including access to curriculum offerings.”

The Department notes that no decisions have been made at this time.

The fight continues: Parliamentary petitions have been launched by both communities, receiving considerable support from the broader region.

• “The school’s way more than just an educational space, it is the heart of the community, and we really need it,” Raynor-White said.