Sad day, but smart move for the future

The school has decided to close for good due to dwindling pupil numbers and fewer resources.

It is the right decision, especially for the children.

Less than 30 pupils are enrolled at the kinder to grade 6 school, down from 66 when it was named on former education minister Nick McKim's hit list of schools to close in 2011.

The school put on a strong fight that year.

At the time, grade 6 pupils Juanita Buttery and Lizzie Coffey-Kennedy told me about their love of being at a small school.

"All the teachers know you by name and you get more opportunities," Lizzie said.

Juanita said if she was at a bigger school she wouldn't "have these extra one-on-one benefits as the teachers would have more children to attend to".

The girls are right, but with less than 30 pupils now, providing more opportunities is a tough ask.

Getting funding for a school where only 30 kids get the benefit would be difficult and as many of the children have siblings at the school, they don't have much opportunity to meet others.

Deloraine Primary is only 10 minutes away by car, so it makes sense for Meander to close.

At Deloraine or Mole Creek Primary - where children are also going - the kids will be able to meet new people and have more opportunities.

Yes, they may not have as much one-on-one time with teachers - which did help Meander rank the fourth best-performing school in the state with its academic results in 2013 - but if the Meander teachers are employed at Deloraine, maybe that could help.

One thing I do hope is the school's memorabilia is displayed somewhere special so the memory of Meander Primary and its great service to the community lives on.

I also hope the state government is wise with the money it pockets from the school closure.

Keeping more teachers across the state to provide more one-on-one benefits like Juanita liked, could be a good start.