Cleeland calls for urgent review of school bus services across Euroa Electorate

Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has called on the Ministers for Education and Transport to urgently review school bus services across the electorate, after ongoing overcrowding left eligible students without a seat.

Ms Cleeland said she spent the opening weeks of the school term again dealing with bus capacity failures first raised with the Minister more than a year ago.

“This complacency is unacceptable and is literally leaving parents phoning schools in the morning asking whether their child can get to school or not,” Ms Cleeland said.

Across Seymour, Kilmore, Euroa, Benalla and surrounding towns, more students are eligible for buses than the network can carry.

In some cases a 58 seat bus has more than 70 eligible students, forcing parents into long daily drives or children missing classes altogether.

The issue comes as the latest Productivity Commission education report highlights declining attendance and engagement, with Victorian school attendance falling 3.7 percentage points since 2019, from 91.5 per cent to 87.8 per cent, among the worst outcomes in the country.

“Families are doing everything right and still can’t get their kids to school,” Ms Cleeland said.

“I want to acknowledge the advocacy of local school communities who brought this bus issue to me and have continued pushing for a solution.”

Ms Cleeland has asked the Allan Labor Government to confirm a formal review of the network, provide a timeline, and ensure every eligible student has a seat while interim solutions are put in place.

“Where a child lives should never determine whether they can attend school. This is not a complicated problem, it just needs action.”

Ms Cleeland said she is ready to bring schools, transport planners and the department together immediately to resolve the issue and restore certainty for families.