1. As at 9 December 2009

2.  260 surveys completed  Not every respondent answered every question  Responses linked to interest in issue, age of children, current situation  Comprise both online and paper surveys  Survey monkey tool Survey monkey tool

3.  260 completed a survey  188 are parents of children aged 0 – 20 years  Representing 404 children  317 children 0 – 12 years  87 children 12 – 20 years  72 are community members interested in the issue

4.  189 of 196 people who answered Q5 said they would use a high school in Agnes  Representing 385 children  7 of 196 said they would not use a high school in Agnes  Representing 16 children

6. (multiple answers)  64 - unsure  117 - hoping for a high school at Agnes  23 - Rosedale high  9 - drive to Miriam Vale  13 - Bundaberg each day  4 - Bundaberg for the week  20 - boarding school  10 - home school  68 - will leave town  2 - another option

7.  68 survey respondents said they and their family will leave town and relocate to a community that has a school.  Representing 151 children  40% of people will leave town  Implications? An issue of significance “No families, no business, no town?”

8.  36 send children to Rosedale  1 drives to Miriam Vale  9 send children to Bundaberg each day  6 send children to boarding school  4 home school  1 has relocated already  2 come up with another option

10.  36 respondents who send their children to Rosedale high completed the survey  35 of these say if Agnes Water had a middle school they would use it (representing 51 high school children and 39 0-12 year olds) (25% of Rosedale high population) (51/204)  30 of these think it is important for Agnes to have a high school  1 thinks it is not important

11.  3.6%  7 people  16 children NO  96.4 %  189 people  385 children YES

12.  1 %  2 people NO  99%  201 people YES

13.  “We have resided here for 18 years and are now faced with dilemma of what we should do for our child’s schooling… 2 hours on a bus over a winding road (in some places not very wide) in an area with kangaroos and delivery trucks is a major concern… After building our life here and supporting the community after all these years it would distress the whole family to have to leave due to an absence in schooling”

14.  “difficult to participate when we know we will relocate to educate our kids”  “Nearest school 140km round trip, 28 000 km a year on dangerous country road”  “my children are tired & cranky each day”  “tried Rosedale & St Lukes, travel was too taxing”  “boarding school had an impact on our family life”  “child was trapped at school during floods”  “I’m desperate for a highschool.. I own 2 businesses in town..We will sell our businesses..”  “We do not have enough time with our children”

15.  “I have a child with special needs, travel is not an option, so I have to leave town”  “my children get sick on the bus, they are tired”  “I’ve lived here for 10 years, sent both children to boarding school after trying Rosedale, am still paying off fees, am investigating relocating to an area with better schooling choices”  “build the school in Agnes and we will stay”

16. View the full stories and view pointsView the full stories and view points here.