Oval Update 2019

Oval Update

As we commence the new school year, many parents have inquired about the state of our school oval and the progress that we are making to secure an urgently needed upgrade to the quality of the surface. Please read below for a detailed update from parent Michele Rowse, on behalf of the School Council Oval Sub-committee.

Welcome to those families who have joined the BRPS community. It's an exciting and nervous time.

As the administrator of the oval committee I wanted to update you all on the oval status. I'm sure many of you look out there and go "what the?", believe me it's what we all think.

Let me rehash the journey so far for the committee who started in 2016 with the sole purpose of sorting out our poor oval. It was and continues to be in a state of disrepair after, what we have been told, over many years of trying to improve it.

The committee came together as a concerned group of parents who had had enough of the state of the oval. I worked full time on the project for the first year, and with the support of the committee, school and parents we moved ever so slightly forward in our commitment to fixing up the outdoor area. We were able to:

Visit over ten schools who had had similar issues with their oval. Met Principals and gleaned years of experience with different surfaces. Learnt that the majority of schools were unable to maintain natural grass surfaces due to wear and tear and the cost of water and maintenance.
Met, on numerous occasions, other key stakeholders and community groups including all the sporting associations screaming out for more grounds, particularly for girls.
Met with Bayside Council who helped us understand that the school is State land and not Council land, and that poses many challenges for us. Happy to take that one off line.
Because of the above we learnt that it was the school's responsibility to maintain its grounds and we came to the realisation that the costs could not be covered by current funding or fundraising. Therefore we needed the solution to be self-funding.
We commissioned a feasibility study with the generous support of our families. After fundraising through a walkathon, a master plan for the entire school grounds was created, along with a feasibility study looking at all surface options that were self-funding and met the needs of the school and local community. Both Bouncil and the Department supported these findings.
At the same time a number of grant opportunities were presented of which we applied and continue to apply for (and were told we came ever so close to receiving) because we were ready to go with plans etc.
We met with every MP, local member etc that would listen and had amazing support from our Southern Ward Councillors Laurie Evans and Clarke Martin. Damien Van Trier from Council has been a great support throughout.
We had some concerns that the solution chosen of a synthetic surface (due to it being the only financial and sustainable surface if the school had to maintain and manage it) for the playing surface would be detrimental to the environment and spent time and money on obtaining advice on how we could offset the impact and therefore maintain our school's commitment to the environment.
Much has been said about the school not accepting Royal Melbourne Golf Clubs generous offer of fixing the oval. To set the record straight they were one of the first key stakeholders we met with. No offer was made to us, however when we held a public forum with our neighbours on what our plans were, a verbal offer was made at that meeting that had not been communicated to us prior. We were very excited by the offer and met shortly afterwards with the relevant representatives. What transpired was an offer of seedlings, a retired mower (that needed us to purchase, house and maintain a tractor) and consultancy advice. The school would still need to organise irrigation and the planting, ongoing water, maintenance and replacement each year. Further reviews of the reports completed regarding the costs of this meant it could not be progressed. Although very generous, the offer was ultimately not sustainable for the school, limited community use and did not provide a guarantee we would have a usable oval into the future.
We have (and continue to have we are sure) a group of neighbours who are very vocal and lobbied extremely hard to stop the project in its tracks. Their concerns over lights, noise and cars due to increased usage were their concerns and we understood that. We believe we were able to find some solutions to their concerns and know that two opposing petitions showed the majority of Black Rock residents and the school community supported the project.
We had students, parents and the community feed into our Master Plan which is now used for all future projects around the school. The stage and sand pit area being the most recent. We are excited that very slowly we are working towards our long term goals.
It's important to note, that the school master plan was designed with outdoor learning and universal access (to support those with special needs) in mind. One day we believe we will be a leader in outdoor school design.
It is also important to note that soil sampling has found the soil to be extremely compacted and acidic, and will require extensive work, irrespective of solution.
The grounds are unsafe with many children hurting ankles and affected by dust storms. This cannot be tolerated.
Our grounds, if repaired properly, could service not only the school's daily learning and activity needs, but also grassroots sports and also after school and inter-school sports where we, like many Bayside schools, have to bus children out of the area. Imagine the savings and impact on the environment we could have.
The school can no longer take bookings for the oval due to the state of disrepair therefore removing access to a number of teams who had been using it. Some are still finding it hard to access grounds.
Late last year, Bayside Council had an external consultant revisit the feasibility study again to test the findings. The same findings were found e.g. if the school is expected to fund and maintain, then the only viable solution is the synthetic surface on the playing field (the other 50% of land space to remain natural). If a partner could be found that would fund its ongoing maintenance then a grass solution could be considered, however a long term commitment would need to be made (joint use) and with at least half the usage for the community. Of course the initial funding for any option still has to be found and grass, in our climate continues to be 'pot luck' as to whether it will survive, even with care.

We continue to make and remain friends with people in all the right places, and continue to lobby for access to funding opportunities, including meeting onsite this week with State MP Phil Deladakis. We will not stop until we find a solution. Laurie Evans and Clarke Martin, our Southern Ward Councillors continue to support our work and as a volunteer committee we are committed to delivering on our promise to our children who attend the school.

The school will be creating a board inside the front entrance (administration) with all of the above information and master plans so please do not hesitate to pop by and have a look. We will notify the school community when it is in place. Our amazing students and community created this design and are very proud of it.

We will keep you updated as things progress, and if anyone can find someone who is wealthy, generous and would like to become the schools benefactor, fast track this very slow process and have their name etched in history at our school, please let me know. This would be the quickest solution and answer thousands of kids (and parents) prayers. We can live in hope.

If you have any questions or would like anymore information please do not hesitate to email me on michelerowse@bigpond.com or call me on 0418982542.

Michele Rowse

On behalf of the BRPS School Council Oval Sub-committee