State government plans to increase the amount of time Victorian children spend at kindergarten has led to some forward planning being put in place by Moyne Shire Council.
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The Victorian government found $881.6 million in its 2019-20 budget to give children across the state access to two years of subsidised kindergarten programs.
This new initiative was rolled out in six local government areas this year, with a further 15 to come in 2021.
The first roll-out areas have been chosen because they already have the physical capacity to meet demand.
The children in these areas will have access to up to 15 hours of kindergarten time per week.
From 2022, three-year-olds in Moyne will join others across the rest of the state to have access to five hours in a kindergarten program.
The hours will then increase up to the full 15-hour program by 2029.
The changes, when introduced for the Moyne Shire, will have a significant impact, with a reconfiguration of one of Port Fairy's biggest council assets needing to take place to meet the growing demand. The Port Fairy Community Services Centre is the current location of kindergarten classes for the town.
The centre is home to the town's kindergarten, child care, maternal and child health services and council meetings.
It is envisaged more space would be needed for kindergarten classes when the state government changes hit Moyne. The expansion for these services is expected to take over the space currently used for monthly council meetings.
While the changes are some way off, Moyne Shire has already begun looking at possible alternative locations for its meetings.
The council has been working through a new licencing deal with the Port Fairy Yacht Club for its clubrooms on the Moyne River.
Before the community services centre was built, the council had held its bi-monthly meetings at the yacht club.
A possible return of the meetings to this venue has been part of the discussions with the yacht club.
The community services centre has become an important part of council's infrastructure since the building opened its doors in 2011.
State, local and federal governments all chipped in for the $2.8 million project.
The current talk of reconfiguration of the building is not the first major change in the facility's history.
An expansion of the centre took place in 2016 to meet the growing needs of young families in the town to access more kindergarten and long-term day care places.
That extension came with a $475,000 price tag.