PARENTS at an isolated pre-school have vowed to fight "tooth and nail" to keep early education available locally.
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Families who travel to the Ooranga pre-school in Premer could face the prospect of having to travel even further if no suitable location can be found within the village.
The site used by the pre-school over the past 30 years is McMaster Community Hall, but Ooranga Executive Director Rebecca Driden said the building is rapidly declining.
"We don't have any intention of closing but we do need to find alternative premises," she said.
"There are a lot of termites, white ants, and to repair it would cost tens of thousands of dollars, probably hundreds of thousands, and rebuilding is out of reach for the community.
"Finding new venue is really the only option."
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P&C president and mother of two Premer pre-school students Kimberley Campbell said the ideal venue is right under their noses.
The Premer primary school has been in recess since 2018, due to no new prospective enrollments for 2019, and a Department of Education spokesman said the school is continuing in recess this year.
"The fact there is this amazing school with a playground, gardens, it's all being maintained and they even have this massive big hall that is just sitting there collecting dust ... all we're asking for is one room," Ms Campbell told the Leader.
Ms Campbell said for most of the eight or nine kids enrolled at the Premer Ooranga pre-school, potentially having to travel to Tambar Springs or Spring Ridge twice per week for early education is not ideal.
"Our kids are isolated and disadvantaged enough as it is," she said.
Ms Driden said Ooranga would like to use the primary school buildings in Premer, and said the company operates out of primary schools in towns like Carroll.
A spokesman from the Department of Education said the department is aware of issues with the Premer pre-school premises and will continue to assist the service to ensure it is able to remain operational.
The spokesman did not respond to the Leader's request whether the primary school was being considered as a venue.