The value of a small school cannot be overstated, the quality of education is second to none. They usually have a committed staff and a high level of community involvement that is not seen in larger schools. To me there are many inefficiencies in the way our tax dollars are spent,education is not one, no matter how many students in the school.Education of our children is a right not a privilege and to have our choice removed to make the books balance is a sad indictment of the direction our society has taken. Some things you can't put a dollar value on.
Rural areas pay taxes like everyone else, but don't have the facilities of suburbia, like public transport,sporting facilities(other than at the local school),public facilities multi-lane freeways etc. Therefore I do think it's fair to expect a local school for our community and being the only local public facility, is an efficient use of funds.
I think large schools have many problems that don't appear in the smaller schools.

Section 19 of the Qld Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 states the following about school closures-
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2006/06AC039.pdf

"Consultation

(1) Before closing a State school, there must be adequate
consultation by the Minister with each of the following—
(a) the school community;
(b) if there is a school council for the school—the school
council;
(c) if there is an association formed for the school—the
association.""

From what I understand and the allegations made here none of these processess were undertaken.

Rainer
Thanks for your input. I looked up the legislation. Now I understand why they call it mothballing, so it can be passed off as a temporary closure, therefore allowing them to bypass the legislation.
The result is still the same no matter what it is called.