ALL 20 schools that fought for survival last year will have to put up a fight again, according to opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson.
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As the much anticipated School Viability Reference Group report is set to go to Education Minister Nick McKim tomorrow, Mr Ferguson said yesterday that there would be ``no forced school closures under a Liberal government''.
The report is the culmination of five months of consultation by the group with school communities, local councils and the general public on the issues facing government schools.
``It's clear that (Education) Minister (Nick) McKim wants to shut schools to save money,'' Mr Ferguson said.
``Unless Mr McKim has had a change of heart I expect that those 20 communities that fought for their schools last June will end up having to fight for their schools again.''
Schools named on the government's initial potential closures list included Avoca, Ringarooma, Mole Creek and Bracknell primary schools.
According to the government's first term enrolment figures for 2011, all these schools were operating at less than 58 per cent capacity.
Mr Ferguson said while he had the utmost respect for the group's chairman, Royce Fairbrother, and the other panel members, he thought the report would be used by Mr McKim as an excuse to cut schools.
He said under a Labor-Green government no school was safe.
Mr Ferguson said that rather than close schools, the Liberal Party believed it should be investing more.
``Our policy is driven by what's in the best interests of students,'' he said.
``Up until last year, this was the position of all three (political) parties in Tasmania.''
Last week acting Education Minister Brian Wightman said Mr McKim would use the report to guide the best possible outcomes for students.
He said with forecasts that the decline in government school enrolments was expected to continue, it needed to develop a sustainable school system.
Mr Wightman said in the past four years, enrolments from kindergarten to year 10 had declined by approximately 3000 students, costing the government $4 million a year in federal funding.
At the time of reversing his decision to close named schools in July, Mr McKim said in light of declining government school enrolments it was an issue it could not walk away from.
