As the state government begins talks on turning empty Russell Island Education Department land into a community garden, locals urge the government not to dismiss the idea of a high school.
Russell Island resident Rosie Binks-Carvalho is advocating for a local high school, saying “Our students face huge social disadvantages. They're being dislocated from their community, being away five days a week and going to the mainland where they don't feel part of that community.”
An Education Department spokesperson says there would not be enough students to make an island-based secondary school viable.
Secretary to the Friends of Southern Moreton Bay Islands High School group, Yvonne Beckett, says this location provides the unique possibility for programs such as marine science or Aboriginal culture.