General News
5 December, 2025
Dunolly’s school crossing to be vacated, sparking safety concerns for students
School crossing supervisor on Elgin Street deemed too expensive by Central Goldfields Shire Council as community members scramble for alternate funding.
Dunolly Primary School’s crossing will be without a supervisor at the end of the term leaving the community fearing for children’s safety.
Central Goldfields Shire Council’s decision to close the Elgin Street school crossing came down to cost, but for the local community, it is an unimaginable crisis.
The news came through with only a month left in the term and has left the local community scrambling for a way to keep it running.
Dunolly Primary School principal Katie Lovel said the closure has left her fearing the worst.
“Children’s safety should never be against a budget line,” she said.
“My fear of having to face a child who has been hit, injured, or worse still is unimaginable.”
Across the state, school crossings are subsidised through the Victorian Government’s School Crossing Supervisor Program to reduce the financial burden on local councils.
But their contribution is drying up, according to Central Goldfields Shire Council, who said they’re paying 79 percent of the bill in the 2025/26 FY.
They claim it used to be an even split when the program began in the 1970s.
The Maryborough District Advertiser contacted the Department of Transport and Planning with these claims, however, they did not respond to them specifically.
Instead they said Central Goldfields Shire Council had not made a funding request for the Elgin Street crossing in the 2025/26 funding cycle.
This is likely because the Dunolly Primary School’s crossing isn’t eligible for the subsidy due to its size.
Under the program councils are eligible when the number of students who use the crossing (minimum of 20) multiplied by the number of vehicles in the hour (minimum of 100) exceeds 5000.
Central Goldfields Shire CEO Peter Harriott said the Elgin Street crossing gets between zero and four students on average each day.
“Due to financial constraints, council can no longer continue to cover the cost of this State Government service,” he said.
However, Dunolly local Jackie Fankhauser said it costs around $14,000 a year for her to be the school crossing supervisor — and she has been for over 13 years.
It’s a career that involves more than the important work of stopping traffic.
Ms Fankhauser is a constant along Elgin Street, a friend to adults and children alike, as well as an informal teacher of road awareness.
The importance of her work was recognised in a community nomination for School Crossings Victoria’s Supervisor of the Year award in 2022.
She’s now preparing to be made redundant, leaving the existing infrastructure unmanned, which she said is no substitute.
“It’s more than just crossing kids,” she said.
Both Ms Fankhauser and Ms Lovel agree that the existing signage, or even more signage, is not the safest option on a busy road like Elgin Street.
They said vehicles are often speeding, some upwards of 60 km/h in a school zone, while heavy machinery and trucks aren’t an unfamiliar site.
“These vehicles are unpredictable. Their focus is on harvest, getting to the silo or getting back out to the paddock, their focus is not on a child who is possibly crossing the road,” Ms Lovel said.
According to the AusRAP Vehicle Star Rating, a rating system for how safe a road is, Elgin Street is a four star road.
Each star improvement, to a maximum of five, halves the risk of fatal or serious injury.
That’s compared to the one star Bridgewater-Dunolly Road a few hundred meters from the school.
Despite the difference in safety, however, the school’s students still feel they’re at risk without Ms Fankhauser.
Aurora is a Grade 6 student and member of the school’s leadership group. She said Ms Fankhauser has become an essential part of their lives.
“She is really kind to all of us and we need her to live, like, literally,” she said.
“Some of us might get injured because of tractors and cars not going the speed limit. If she’s there we can all cross safely.”
Member for Ripon Martha Haylett said she was disappointed to hear council were going to cut the service.
“To announce this decision so close to the end of the school year without a transition period, or without attempts to find a resolution has caused a lot of distress for local families,” she said.
She said she’s asked council to continue the service until alternative arrangements or infrastructure can be found.
“I will always advocate to improve safety around our schools and I urge the local council to apply for state funding to keep this crossing,” she said.
However, Mr Harriott said they’re already calling on the State Government for support and encourage the community to do the same.
“Ensuring the safety of local children remains non-negotiable and so council is calling on the State Government to review the funding model so this essential service can continue,” he said.
“We will continue to keep the community updated with our advocacy efforts between now and term one.”