THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHOOL TO A RURAL TOWN

The school ha~; a number of roles in a rural community. This paper investigates just what those roles are in tilree rural high schools il1l11e Wimmera District of Victoria. After summarising the roles provided by interviews in the three schools, four of the roles are examined in more detail. These are tile community use of the school facilities, tile expenditure of the staffs in the three communities, the involvement of the staff in community associations and organisations and the employment created by Ihe three schools. The investigation shows that in those three communities, the schools are important. In addition, U,e paper refers to roles which are difficult to quantify such as tradition and communily integrity_ These roles are also of importance to the rural communities.


INTRODUCTION
, in a Kansas study of the small rural high school and its place in the community social setting, concluded that: . , . The town's high school was tightly integrated into the fragile fabric of the community's social life. The communities and their schools were mutually reinforcing. To remove the school from such a community (and thereby alter the reciprocal halance) would he destl'llclive of tile community. (Sher, 1977: 71) lust how important is the high school to a rural community in Australia? This paper seeks to provide answers to this question. r~.cscarch was cfUTied out in three rural towns, Dimboola, Nhill and K'Uliva in the Wimmera District of Victoria in 1987 to establish the importance of local high schools to UlOse communities.
In order to obtain opiliion about the role of the school in the community interviews were held with the principal, two teachers mId two parents at each school. Of the two teachers interviewed one was a senior teacher and the oUler an assistant teacher. One parent interviewed was the president of the school council whilst the olher was not involved witil tHe council. In all seventeen diiTercnt reasons were given as to why the three high schools were important to those communities. Figure 1 summruises the reasons given.

Figure 1
Why the Wimmera High Schools Are Important to Their Communities The school is an important pan of the communit.y as a war memorial.
The school provides community library facilities.
The school provides a community hall.
The school involvcs Ule children of thc community and so there is a co-operali ve community effort for their henefit.. The school has tfEldition mld sentimental attachment.
The physical position of the school, being located on the highest position over-looking the town, gives it prominence in the community.
The school facilities are used by the community.
The school is fl source of tlnancia.i expenditure in the town.
The school is the focal point of the community.
The school provides a sense of achievement and a confidence in the future.
The stalT involvement and conu'ibution is imporl1nt to community associations and clubs.
The school has a sense of family. The school is important as a service industry in the community and is important f()r community survival. The school provides for community expectations and is a reflection of tile town. The school is an important agent of community change.
The school provides employment for the community.

The school's success is important for community pride.
The school is an important provider of education for tJle community's children.
Source. lnterviews at the Three Wimmera High Schools.
A number of the roles can be quantified. This paper exrunines only four such roles in detail. They are community use of the school facilities, the school as a source of expenditure in the town, the stafr involvement. and contrihution in associations and clubs and provision of employment.

COMMUNITY USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES
InfOlmation about community use of facilities was provided in a questionnaire completed by the principals for U,e three Wimmera high schools and from the interviews conducted at the schools. From the principals' questionnaire data and those interviewed, 35 community groups were identified which used the three Wimmera high school facilities. The groups are summarised in Figure 2. Based on the questionnaire and interview data, it is apP(u'ent that the three Wimmera high schools are an important community resource.

THE SCHOOL AS A SOURCE OF EXPENDITURE IN THE TOWN.
In the investigation of the school as a source of-expenditure, the expenditure by staff members and bus drivers in those towns anti elsewhere was calculated. One hundred and five people gained direct cmploymcnt in the operation of the schools. These consisted of 79 teachers and 26 ancilhu), or couucil cmployed staff. In lIddition24 bus drivers also gained employment in transporting the rural children 10 the schools, All teaching, ancilim'y and council employed staff in the tilrce schools were surveyed to obtain information about their gross salary, the estimate of their expenditure in the town where they taught and estimates of expenditure in neighhouring towns. Seventy five of the 105 staff responded to the survey. The respondents included a mix of teaching, ancillary and council employed staff and the respondent teachers were amix of different classifications. The respondents appeared to be representative of the total staff population and tile findings were extrapolated for the total staff numbers.
Of tile estimated gross income of $2,492,600 for tile staff at tile till'ee Wimmera high schools, $960,400 or 39% was spent in the townships of Dimboola, Kaniva and Nhill. A further $187,440 or seven per cent was spent in other service cenu'es in tile Winunera. Of this amoun~ $184,200 was spent in llorshmn. Expenditure in Horshmn, the main service centre of the Wimmera, decreased with tile increased distance of the three lawns from tilat centre, The total expenditure in the Wimmera by the staff of .the U,ree schools was $1,147,850 or 46% of estimated gross salary.
Education in Rural Australia, Vo!. 4 (I) ... Page 3 • No attempt was made tn survey bus contractors and bus drivers for their expenditure in the tinee West Wimmcra towns or the Wimmera. It was assumed that gross income from the bus operations was spent in a similfu' pnllern to that of school staffs. Of tile total bus contract income of $345,890, $134,900 (39%) woulll be 'pent in Dimboola, Kruliva and Nhill. This would give a total expenditure of $1,095,300 at those three towns. The expenditure of bus cono'act income spent in the Wimmera would be $159,110 (46%), giving a total expenditure in tile Wimmera of $1,306,960.
The actual local expenlliture at the three towns could even be greater because of school expenditure on school supplies such as stucients' requisites anci CfUHeen supplies. It can be seen why tllOse interviewed placed expenditure in the town as one of the most importmt roles of the schoOl in the community.

STAFF INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS.
A questionnaire was used to ohtain informntion about staff involvement in activities and organisations in each Wimmera town. Stall members of the three high schoOls were asked to indicate their involvement in a vruiety of organisations and associations in tile towns where they lived and also tlle involvement of members or their families. There was an 0PPOItunity provided for involvement in other organisations and associations not listed on the questionnaire to be added by the respondent. The questionnaire also sought information as to whether the staff members held executive positions in the organisations and associat.ions. From the data obtained it was possible to determine an average involvement for the staff members of the schools and members of their families. Table 1.

The involvement figure ft'presents the total number of activities of the teachers. ancillary staff and staff families who indicated involvement in organisat.ions. For example, 34 of the 75 staff respondents had 62 involvements in schooj activities or organisations other than teaching.
One teacher could have been involved in three activities -the parents' club, the fete committee and the school council.  Table 1 shows that staff members and their fwniJies of the three high schools were very much involved in community, social, cultun:li, sporiing, church and other activities in the three Wimmera towns. This involvement was quantHicd to be an average 8.5 acLivities for each staff member and his/bel' family. The highest level of involvement was in sport, followed by school activities, community organisations (  supplies, uniform sales, school supplies, rental housing and buildings maintenance. Some employment effect would be local but. in some of Ule categories mentioned, it may be at another Whnmera centre or funiler aficld. No attempt was made to quantify tilis additional employment created by the operation of the schools because of tbe difficulty in doing so, but it was assumed to be important to the school communities. In rural towns such employment is important in tile economic fabric of the communities.

CONCLUSION
In tile four roles examined, the importance of the rural high school to the local community in areas other than educating the Children, is obvious. In addit.ion to the ti1fee high schools, there is a State primmy school in each town and two registered schools in one t.own and one in another.
If ule effect of those additional schools on expenditure, community use of school facilities, involvement of staff in community organisations and employment is similar in relative terms to tile high schools, the schools in the three towns ru·e very important to tile well being of those communities. Peshkin (1982: 153-158), another American writer when analysing the importance of tile school to the community noted the importance of the schools symbolic functions of autonomy, vitality, integrit.y, personal control and community tradition. These roles are difficult to measure but are also rellected in a number of the oUler rolcs of the schools identified by tilOse interviewed in the Wimmera. They involve sentimental atlacilment and emot.ional feeling fOr"Ule school and are importlllll to a rural community. Those involved in restructuring rural education need to be aware and sensit.ive to tile importrult community roles that the school has in a rural community.