Petition calls for special meeting over 21-year lease from Shire of Denmark for Kwoorabup Nature School

The Shire of Denmark has received a 451-signature petition calling for a special electors’ meeting to re-assess a 21-year lease granted to the Kwoorabup Nature School. The Shire has 35 days to respond to the petition and set a date for the meeting. The school is based in the Denmark heritage railway precinct. Denmark Historical Society deputy chair Bev McGuinness said the petition was not against the staff or students but against the school as an entity expanding into a historical reserve. “The issue is not about the school but about the heritage precinct,” she said. “It’s all about location. “We wanted to put in a model railway recreation in the old post office building; the man from Perth who built it was willing to give it to us to display.” The school has said it believes the council made the right decision for the wider Denmark community by granting it a 21-year lease. “The school made it clear in negotiations over the previous expansion that it was seeking a permanent home on the reserve,” a school spokesperson said. “The school community and wider community in Denmark have been extremely disheartened by some of the vitriol being written and spoken, particularly online. “The school originated in Denmark and has been at the reserve site for 20 years now. “It’s not invading anything, just growing as a child grows into an adult. “It’s disappointing that people are seemingly nervous about change or the unknown, particularly when you’re talking about opportunities for children in a regional town expanding. “I will say that our community is particularly shocked by how this has progressed to such a low standard of debate and we are not interested in conflict.” Ms McGuinness said Denmark businesses that displayed the petition were given a hard time by some people. “We have asked our community to remain calm and civil, and we have no knowledge of anyone being given a hard time about hosting the petition,” the school spokesperson said. Denmark Machinery Restoration Group member Ross McGuinness has clarified his previous comments that likened the school to an invasive weed. “People are willingly confusing comments about the school,” he said. “I have been attacked and denigrated for likening the school to a weed but I was never talking about the staff and the children as weeds. “Members of the machinery group are pretty nervous that the council is refusing to renew the lease until the issue with the school is sorted out.” The school has said it has no plans to expand further and hopes to be able to build three classrooms with funding from the Federal Government. This would enable the school to grow to a full single-stream kindergarten to Year 6 primary school with an average class size of 20 students. If it is given permission to build these classrooms, it plans to return either the Old Post Office or the Station Master’s building to full-time community use. The special elector’s meeting has been set by the Shire for August 1.