Echuca Twin Rivers School parent Paige Beriman said one of her nine-year-old twins was literally jumping up and down on the spot after school today, having learned the government had committed funding to relocating the specialist school to the Echuca Twin Rivers School site. 

Ms Beriman’s eldest daughter was part of the committee planning for three schools, including the Echuca Specialist School, to merge.

“We planned it so it would be for all of us,” Ms Beriman quoted her 14-year-old daughter as having said.

Ms Beriman said she had harboured a sense of guilt that the specialist school, which was in need of a new site even back when the discussions were taking place, had been the last to be moved.

“I’m a really big believer in inclusion in our area,” she said.

“As much as we’re excited right now, we need to keep the pressure up.”

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UPDATE 2.10pm: LOCKINGTON mother Carolyn Lewis started campaigning for a new Echuca Specialist School in the hope it would help the next generation of students.

This morning, she learned the project might be completed before her 14-year-old daughter Kaitlyn finished her schooling.

“It is fantastic news,” Mrs Lewis said. 

“If we can keep them to their word these kids will finally, finally get the school they deserve.”

A new school was promised during merger talks back when Kaitlyn was starting at Echuca Specialist School.

But the project was only partly funded, making the only campus Kaitlyn has ever known the one riddled with issues.

“This is a priority project,” Education Minister James Merlino said this morning.

“This is a wonderful school doing wonderful things… but you also look around and the majority of the school is in relocatables.” 

A reliance on portable classrooms isn’t the only issue plaguing the Echuca Specialist School, with the minister recognising the need for ‘a brand new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility so we can have buildings that match the wonderful teaching and learning here’.

Mrs Lewis said the students were ‘just so excited’ by the announcement, which followed an $11 million commitment by the Liberal Nationals.

“So long as they follow through, we’ll be very, very happy,” she said.

“I told him [Mr Merlino] he didn’t have to answer my email now.”

Parents aren’t the only ones to have contacted the education minister with their concerns after the school missed out on funding again during this year’s budget.

“It has been a strong community campaign,” Mr Merlino said at the start of his announcement.

“I’ve received lots of letters from students about the need to finish the Echuca Regeneration Project and that’s exactly what I’m announcing today.

"What I'm announcing today is the quickest way that we can get the Echuca Special School built and delivered for the community and for these wonderful children here at this terrific school.”

The $850,000 the education minister ordered the Victorian School Building Authority to release is expected to fund design and tender documentation.

Both documentation stages are expected to take 11-12 weeks, respectively, with the build expected to start early in 2019.

Mr Merlino expected construction to take a further 12-18 months.

Mrs Lewis said the Echuca Specialist School Action Group, of which she is a member, would hold the politicians accountable to their promises.

She reiterated comments made last month indicating project funding should not be dependent on the outcome of the state election, on November 24.

“It shouldn’t be anything to do with politics. They should have just got it,” Mrs Lewis said.

Asked why the funding had taken so long to come to fruition, Mr Merlino said the government had attended a number of regional special schools in ‘atrocious’ condition since being elected.

“We've got over 1500 government schools across the state. We inherited over 400 schools that were classified by the Department of Education and Training as red schools.

“If you're a red school, you're in the worst condition. We can't fix that in one budget. We can't fix it in four budgets.

“We've got the biggest school building program we've ever seen but we can't do everything in one go.”

He said the government had been making investments in the so-called ‘red schools’ budget after budget after budget, and that distributing funding for ‘regeneration projects’ over several budgets was not uncommon.

“Regen projects are, by their very nature, massive undertakings,” Mr Merlino said.

“You can’t deliver them, construction wise, in one or two years so you have a series of budget allocations for regen projects.”

EARLIER: Education Minister James Merlino has announced $16.7 million for a new Echuca Specialist School, with planning expected to be finished by the end of the year. 

But the much-needed funding comes with a catch, with the full sum for the development dependent on the outcome of the November election.

The government has committed $850,000 to finalise planning for the final two stages of the Echuca Regeneration Project, effective immediately.

The project encompasses a new Echuca P-12 Special School, to be built at the site of the Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School.

The regeneration project also provides for additional facilities at the primary school, which was the result of the Echuca South and Echuca West primary schools merging in previous years.

An $11 million investment by the state government enabled the primary schools to merge, but the project has been incomplete due to a lack of further funding.

Mr Merlino said the government’s $850,000 investment would enable planning work to be finished by the end of the year, priming the incoming government to turn the first sod to start construction in 2019.

However, “only a re-elected Labor Government will make sure that happens by fully funding both remaining stages.”

A further $11 million investment would ensure the Echuca P-12 Special School was built, along with bus drop-off facilities and car and bike parking.

An additional $5.7 million would see a sports oval, play areas and hard courts installed at the school school, as well as a competition-grade gym with music and arts facilities, and further classrooms for the Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School.

The announcement comes after Nationals leader Peter Walsh and Shadow Education Minister Tim Smith last month promised to provide $11 million to upgrade the school if a Coalition government was elected in November.

Mr Merlino hit out at the Liberals during this morning’s announcement, declaring: “The Liberals didn’t spend a single cent on the Echuca Regeneration Project and cut more than $1 billion out of our education system.”

“We’ve already built the new Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School but thPyrenere’s more to do and only Labor will deliver it, with $16.7 million to build a new special school and even better facilities at the primary school,” he said.

The Education Minister’s quips were echoed by Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp: “This region was deserted by Peter Walsh and the former Coalition government  but the Labor Government is getting on with delivering the new Echuca Specialist School.”

The school is contending with issues such as erratic power and water supply, asbestos-ridden buildings, and facilities that were not purpose built. 

Works were to take place during the most recent school holidays to address sewerage issues experienced by the school.

Lockington mother Carolyn Lewis, whose 14-year-old daughter Kaitlyn attends the Echuca Specialist School, criticised the politicisation of the issue following Mr Walsh’s announcement last month.

“The school is about kids needing a new school, not what political party is going to give the money for it,” she said.

“I really think they need to stop using these kids for their campaign. They need to give the money now for the school, when it’s needed.”