At last night’s Ordinary Council Meeting, Council resolved to co-fund a school crossing supervisor for Haddon with VicRoads.
Currently, Council co-funds crossing supervisors at six sites across the Shire, and will now provide a supervisor for the 2019/20 Financial Year at Sago Hill Road, Haddon for Haddon Primary School.
Council will be advertising the position in the coming weeks, with this important community safety service to begin as soon as possible.
In consultation with Haddon Primary School, Council earlier this year installed a new zebra crossing to help guide children and parents from the school gate to the car parking area. The school community subsequently raised the need for a dedicated crossing supervisor, and Council is pleased to introduce this safety measure in conjunction with VicRoads.
Also at the Council Meeting on 25 June, Council discussed the future funding model of the School Crossing Supervisor Program. With a growing population and in a rate-capping environment, the current co-funding model between the State Government and Council needs change.
Council agreed to advocate for the State Government to significantly increase its annual program funding, so that Council can continue to protect its young and most vulnerable road users, but without burdening the ratepayers with a funding model that is not sustainable.
The State Government currently fully funds school crossing supervisors in other rural shires, and Council will write to the Minister for Roads, Road Safety and the TAC, and to the Minister for Education, requesting that the State Government transition to a model of fully funding the School Crossing Supervisor Program from 1 July 2020.
Council also resolved to write to the Minister to provide funding in the 2019/20 Financial Year to meet the full costs of establishing and servicing a further two supervised school crossings in Bannockburn.