Court government to close schools

By Stephen Robson

PERTH -- Despite the “I'm not Jeff Kennett and this is not Victoria” rhetoric during the 1993 state election campaign from Liberal leader Richard Court, his school closure program has all the hallmarks of Kennett's.

Up to 64 schools have been listed for closure in a hit list prepared by a “rationalisation” committee from the Education Department. The documents were obtained by the West Australian and highlighted in its February 15 issue.

It seems the Court government was going to wait until after the (federal) Fremantle and (state) Glendalough by-elections before revealing the bitter pill. The list for closure includes 20 metropolitan and 44 country schools. Five secondary schools are among them.

The government's McCarrey commission in its second report into public sector finances in 1993 proposed that closing schools could save $88 million.

Already four primary schools in the state -- Leederville, Kununoppin, Cygnet Bay and Shay Gap -- did not reopen at the beginning of the 1994 school year.

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