Parents have urged Hobsons Bay council not to sacrifice two small Altona kindergartens for a new “Bunnings-type” hub at a protest on Friday.
The council’s administration has recommended Altona Kindergarten and Somers Parade Kindergarten be closed when the $6.9million Altona Early Years Hub is built on the site of Altona P-9 College.
Courtney Beckwith is a father of twins and himself attended Altona Kindergarten in 1979.He said he felt a strong connection to the kinder for its role in the development of his children, particularly his son who is on the autism spectrum.
He said the new hub would be “like a Bunnings for early childhood development”.
“It’s just trying to be all things to all people, and for a lot of people that’s absolutely fine and that’s great, and for a lot of people it also isn’t,” Mr Beckwith said.
“With the kinder … it has a strong connection to the community. A new hub in that Bunnings-type thing, well it’s just straight out of the box.”
Hobsons Bay mayor Sandra Wilson said the council would consider the future provision of early years services in Altona at its September meeting. A petition containing 848 signatures and a joint letter signed by committee of management heads of both kindergartens has been submitted to the council.
