One should never mess with the smaller New England communities.
As well all know well, the passion in our tiniest villages is ferocious, and they will fight for their continuation and services like no other. We see that fight at the moment in Kentucky, population 179, where the fight is on to save their general store. That same intensity is brewing 22 kilometres away on the other side of Uralla at Rocky River, population 297, as they fight to save their historic school.
Historic schoolhouse unsafe
With over 100 years of history under its roof, the main schoolhouse at Rocky River has been deemed unusable due to structural issues which the Department of Education has, locals say, repeatedly refused to fix. Students and staff were dramatically evicted from this building two years ago, with no communication on when it will be restored.
Students and staff are currently working from temporary classrooms while the historic main building has been ‘Under Construction’ since June 2022. While some residents have surmised that the Department of Education is “planning on closing the school down by stealth”, the community have long recognised the urgency of the situation and are now calling out the lack of action by the Department.
While not experiencing the same serious structural issues as Rocky River School, some local residents who live along Thunderbolt’s Way close to the school precinct have noticed changes to their own properties. While no definitive answer has been provided, residents attribute the changes to the extended drought of the 2010s followed by the significant rain events of the early 2020s.
Additional heavy vehicle movement along Thunderbolt’s Way are also a significant contributing factor, as B-double trucks move loads of sand and gravel to improve other roadways and increased freight on the narrow, winding arterial road network take their toll.
Department denials
However, the Department of Education has denied it is weather related issues that caused the slippage under the schoolhouse, blaming ‘unauthorised works’ on the building for the damage.
“The main school building has suffered structural damage due to work undertaken a number of years ago without the department’s approval, including the removal of internal walls,” the Department spokesperson said.
“These unapproved works made the building unsafe. It has since been closed off.”
“The safety and wellbeing of students and staff is our top priority, and we have worked to minimise the disruption to Rocky River students, returning them to the school site as soon as it was safe to do so.”
“The Department is aware of the concerns of the P&C and will continue to work with the local community to address these issues.”
“We will work closely with the school on its infrastructure needs and keep the community informed about next steps.”
They have also denied there are plans to close the school.
School essential to Rocky River community
“Rocky River has a unique and historic sense of community that is significantly linked to this school. It is the very heart of our heritage,” said Rocky River Parents & Citizens (P&C) Association secretary, Beth Platford.
“Long-term, historic links to the community like the Rocky River schoolhouse cannot be lost.”
“This is an important piece of the education system, which proudly celebrated 175 years of public education in 2023.”
“That is the cruellest of ironies – the fact that while the Department were busy patting themselves on the back over the history of providing publicly accessible education to the people over the past 175 years, these irreplaceable relics, the actual tangible links that bind the education system to the people, have simply been left to crumble away with nothing more than a shrug of their shoulders.”
“By their lack of transparency and progress in this process, the Department has said our students don’t matter.
“Our P&C exists because our students do matter. Their educational experiences matter, their sense of stability in their educational journey matters and their sense of belonging to the ‘big picture’ matters.”
Significantly, some of the current 42 students are the fifth generation to tread the floorboards of Rocky River School.
P&C forced to act when staff are silenced
Ms Platford said the P&C feels obligated to raise the concerns as the school and staff are bound by a code of conduct that prohibits their ability to discuss such matters.
“In fact, that is exactly our role: giving a voice to the parents and the community in seeing the best possible outcomes for our young people regarding their educational experiences,” said Ms Platford.
“The P&C would be derelict in our responsibility if we did not take a stand on this inaction.”
Rocky River School’s Parents & Citizens Association also has a deep connection in the life of the School. Establishing its first executive body in 1925, the Rocky River P&C will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. This fact in itself is the greatest acknowledgement of the support the community brings to this School.
“This School was very much built by the community for the community, and the residents of Rocky River take great pride in the continuation of this legacy.”
“It would absolutely break our community to lose the significance of this building,” said Ms Platford
Minister, Department, fail to answer questions and letters
Although NSW Schools Infrastructure began the process of repairing the building in 2022, all work stopped 12 months ago. There has been no communication with local MP Adam Marshall, the local director of educational leadership, the school principal, or the P&C since then, despite numerous requests for information.
The Rocky River P&C has attempted to obtain answers from Minister Car and the Department of Education but has not received a response. In addition, the P&C has contacted Uralla Shire Council to enquire about getting the site listed as a “Site of Local Historical Significance”.
Prior to stepping down, the MP for the Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall, placed three questions on notice to the NSW Education Minister, Prue Car, seeking an urgent review of the situation. Mr Marshall’s questions on notice must be answered by mid-June.
During the course of his tenure, Mr Marshall had called on the NSW State Government several times to undertake urgent action to fix the structural issues so that students and staff could move back to the main building.
The New England Times also put a number of questions to the Minister Car’s office, cc the Premier’s office, including specifically asking why the Minister had not responded to the P&C’s letters, but they were not responded to by deadline.
Top image: the condemned historic Rocky River schoolhouse (Beth Platford)
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