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Maddy Coutts’ connection to Martins Creek Public School is strong and sentimental in equal measures.
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A former student of the small school, Maddy, 23, has also helped her family wage two wars on the Department of Education and Training to help improve the lives of those with disabilities at the school.
She will once again dust off her gloves to fight for the children of Martins Creek.
“This fight is so very important. We need to do whatever we can to save this school,” Maddy said.
Before her death, Maddy’s little sister Sarah – who had Down syndrome – won a three-year battle with the NSW education department to continue her education at Martins Creek Public School.
The fight was sparked by the department’s insistence that Sarah – then 13 and weighing just 24 kilograms – be forced to travel to high school to continue her education.
The Coutts’ family argued the move would be detrimental to Sarah’s already fragile health.
Sarah died in 2011 aged 14. That same year Maddy launched a campaign to save a disabled toilet at the school. Maddy also won her fight.
“This school has a huge sentimental value for our family because of Sarah, but it’s also so important to this community in terms of providing an education for our children,” Maddy said.
“So this new battle is actually opening up a lot of old memories. It’s an extremely nurturing place.”
