Students will remain in temporary classrooms for two more years while others will be transferred across to former council offices as NSW government pushes its foot on the accelerator for Bungendore's revised high school construction.
As NSW Education Minister Prue Car pledged the country town's high school would be delivered in this term of government but remained coy about the cost, project manager Tom Kennedy confirmed that designs for the new high school site would be finalised by the end of this year, with information sessions and planning formalities as soon as possible thereafter.
The sense of relief at the resolution of the country town's four-year high school controversy was evident as the Deputy Premier and Monaro MP Steve Whan gathered on the wind-blown hill above North Bungendore where the new school will be built.
Mr Whan described the new location as "essentially the centre of future growth in Bungendore" given the rapid residential expansion to the east and north of the town as new arrivals look for bigger blocks and better value than on offer in the ACT.
A highly ambitious timetable of just over two years has been set for the high school's design, approval and construction.
Details are still not confirmed but the larger site will accommodate 600 students, with the flexibility to grow to 1000.
Meanwhile the current temporary high school, which houses years 7 and 8 and operates out of classrooms on the site of the primary school, will have several changes including a new hall, science lab and playing field upgrades. The temporary high school has all but absorbed the outdoor play areas of the primary school.
Bungendore locals looked on in surprise on Wednesday as the temporary fencing across the historic Mick Sherd Oval and Majara Street was quickly coming down within minutes of the minister's official announcement.
If ever there was a sign this government wanted to put this whole sorry saga behind it, this delivered the visual proof.
The contentious former centre-town site had been fast-tracked by former Nationals leader and Monaro MP John Barilaro. But the original proposal had an impact on many of the town's treasured features such as its swimming pool and its much-loved oval, where local teams like the mighty Bungendore Mudchooks always attract a strong home crowd.
The "Save the Bungendore Park" group took umbrage at the "invasive" Barilaro proposal and lack of community consultation very early and mounted a well-organised counter-campaign. Meanwhile the council, too, was financially shortchanged by the sum offered by the NSW audit office for its resumed Crown land.
No-one in the town, it seems, opposed a new high school. But a lot of people didn't want it put there.
However, if there was a clincher to the lengthy controversy, it came when the issue when to the NSW Land and Environment Court late last year, which ruled the Barilaro site was invalid. That embarrassing outcome, which clearly could have been appealed but the NSW government thought better of it, set in motion a rapid review process.
"I wish we could turn back time but we cannot," Ms Car said.
"We are moving quickly on the next steps and I hope this is a process of healing for the town.
"The previous government left us with nothing but heartache in Bungendore [and] a big mess in school building projects."
