Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said the new Wee Waa High School will be a state-of-the-art facility to serve the community for generations to come.
“The Department of Education will now develop a design and continue consultation to deliver a new school that meets the current and future needs of the local community.”
Planning and construction will utilise ‘fast track’ technology.
The preferred site is on land adjacent to the Wee Waa Public School across Mitchell Street.
The Minister said any concerns about the suitability of the preferred site would be covered with state of the art geotechnical design and engineering.
Concerns have been raised that the area is low lying and prone to water lying on it.
Initial consultation on the preferred new site has been undertaken with the school leadership, Narrabri Shire Council, and key stakeholders including local Aboriginal groups, the Minister said.
The Wee Waa community will be invited to an information session on Wednesday, June 23, to find out more about the project scope and benefits, timeline and the design approach, the Minister said.
“The past year has been an incredibly trying time for the students and staff at Wee Waa High School.
“Experts are yet to identify what is causing the health issues.
“But what is definite is that the school community needs certainty.”
Mrs Mitchell said she had been working closely with the school community and Narrabri Shire Council to resolve the issues around a future high school.
“We have said all along we would do whatever we need to do to support the school community.
“We are focused on what’s best for the students, staff and Wee Waa community.
“We want to provide world class education facilities tight here in Wee Waa.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to build a state of the art learning facility for the future of our kids.
“Now that funding has been approved by Treasury we can work with the council to get the building approvals to start building as soon as we can.”
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