A CAMPAIGN to bridge the learning gap for Daylesford Secondary College students is one step closer, after the Education Minister visited the facility.  Parents and community members have been campaigning for several months to get the school facilities ‘‘back into the 21st century’’ - which they believe is a key step towards greater education in the region.  Community campaign representative Kathleen Murray said the 50-year-old buildings must be upgraded to ensure Daylesford kept on par with its counterparts.  She said a report released last week highlighted that country children were falling behind, which the local community witnessed first-hand.  But campaigners are hoping the upgrade will help turn the tide.  ‘‘The (facilities) at Daylesford remain well below modern learning facilities and you can’t say that a school’s appearance doesn’t effect students’ self esteem,’’ she said.  ‘‘This is a great school with great teachers and we want the facilities to reflect that. ‘‘It’s about bridging the gap between country students and city students and bringing us back up to speed.’’ Labor contributed $6.5 million for stage one of the redevelopment in 2010, and has now committed $10 million for stage two if elected in November.  No funding has been announced from the Coalition government as yet.  Minister Dixon said the government was managing capital and maintenance needs of more than 1500 schools across Victoria.  He said further announcements would be made in the lead up to the election, with Ms Murray remaining hopeful Daylesford might be on the list of recipients.  ‘‘Education Minister Martin Dixon is making significant policy efforts to reduce these gaps (by funding many schools across the region),’’ she said.  ‘‘We see his visit as significant and both Macedon Liberal candidate Donna Petrovich and Northern House member Amanda Miller have worked hard to bring this issue to his attention.’’ School council president Lorraine Hayes backed Ms Murray’s comments, saying the school was hopeful for a bipartisan funding agreement.  ‘‘The unfortunate thing is the lobbying is a distraction from the main game - education,’’ she said.  ‘‘But we feel like the Minister listened to our concerns and took a genuine interest in our school.  ‘‘We understand the political realities and there was a change of government which saw a delay in progress, but we are happy to be back on their radar.’’
