Despite expressions of interest for enrolment at the Beckom Public School, its future is looking bleaker than ever.
The facility closed its doors at the end of last year as the Department of Education sought a new principal.
The closure came after the school’s previous principal relocated to Ardlethan Central to fill the position there.
A Department of Education (DET) spokeswoman says advertisements seeking enrolments are only being used to gauge the level of interest from potential parents and students, and it is not an indication the school is about to get back up and running.
As a result, it appears likely Beckom students will continue having to attend Ardlethan next year.
“Each year we seek out enrolments at schools and in the case of Beckom, we are looking to gauge the level of interest in an effort to get the school back up and running,” the spokeswoman said.
“We know families come and go in small towns which is why we feel it’s important to get an idea of how in-demand the facility is.
“Recruitment remains on-going to secure a principal. As of yet, no applications have been received.”
In a previous statement, the Department said arrangements for the operation of the school in 2023 would be announced by the end of this year but so far that hasn’t happened.
With Beckom Public still in limbo, frustration in the community is mounting and Coolamon Shire Councillor and Beckom resident, Kathy Maslin, believes the DET are setting the school up to fail.
“Essentially they won’t advertise for a principal unless they feel confident there is enough interest in enrolments,” Cr Maslin said.
“The only reason they have advertised for enrolments at all is because residents like myself have asked them to.
“Some time ago the publican of the Beckom Hotel and I were contacted by the Department requesting a community consultation meeting about the future of the school.
“To me, it seemed odd they only wanted two people at the meeting and I told them to contact the P&C. I also asked if I could advertise the meeting on social media, which they allowed as long as I used department wording.
“We managed to get six people there and I have to say we were all left very disappointed with the lack of answers from the Department.
“In a further indication of their unwillingness to help, they are now enforcing the rule that enrolments can only come from the catchment area. With that in place, I believe the school would only get 20 students at best.
“It seems clear they are not genuine in their attempts to save the school and would be happy to let it go into recess,” Cr Maslin said.
Despite the Department claiming no applications for the principal position have been received, Cr Maslin says she knows at least one person has applied.
“She is local and has actually taught at Beckom Public so she is more than qualified. But after submitting her application earlier this year, she hasn’t heard anything back.”
Last week Cr Maslin requested a second com- munity meeting with the Department.
So far, she has received no response.
