Until very recently, Debra Mill had clear plans about what her daughter Hannah's future would look like.
She would leave her hometown of Nubeena next year and study year 11 a one-and-a-half-hour drive away in Hobart, staying at the Springvale Student Residence in New Town.
But news the facility will close at the end of the year has thrown a spanner in those plans, and caused great uncertainty for the regional families who rely on sending their kids there.
"She's not sure whether it's going to happen or not. What was a really clear decision … she's suddenly feeling she doesn't have those options available, and they possibly might be dashed," Ms Mill said.
"My reaction was no, it can't be true."
Accommodation operator Bob Gilmour said it was no longer financially viable to operate the residence after COVID significantly reduced the number of students staying there.
Before the pandemic there were about 65 boarders each year, attending about a dozen different schools in the Hobart area.
"We ran very successfully from the inception of this model in 2004 all the way to the end of 2019 and at the end of 2019 we were in great shape financially," he said.
"By the end of 2020 we were on the skids. COVID killed us — that's it in a nutshell.
"By the start of this year as a business our resources were gone, we had nothing left in the tank, we just couldn't continue to run in that vein."
Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said there had been lots of community concern about Springvale's closure.
"This is a place that has for many years provided a safe and secure and affordable accommodation option for kids who come from the region and now it's closing," she said.
"What those students and parents need to hear from the minister is a rock-solid commitment that they won't be left in the lurch and that at the start of the next school year there will be an alternative to Springvale because this is an essential accommodation service."
Government exploring 'alternative accommodation'
Education Minister Roger Jaensch said the government had provided financial support to Springvale so it could continue operating until the end of the school year, with the education department canvassing a number of options to replace it.
"The department is exploring with families a number of alternative accommodation options and other solutions for their future," he said.
"Family and student meetings have already commenced, with a range of different options presented to families to meet individual and unique student needs."
Mr Jaensch said "all potential options" for the Springvale site, which is owned by the education department, were being considered, including it being used as accommodation.
He said consultations were also underway with a range of other accommodation providers, including Collegiate, Hutchins, TasTafe, homestay accommodation, Colony47 and the University of Tasmania.
Ms Mill said residents on the Tasman Peninsula were considering drastic options, such as homeschooling their children, selling their property and moving to Hobart, or paying for more expensive homestay accommodation, as they searched for clarity.
But for her family, there is only one way forward if they cannot secure a Springvale alternative.
"The only option is for my child to get on a bus at 6am in the dark and come home at the end of the day quite exhausted, and then there's the expectation of homework," she said.
"This is really not a good scenario for my child to be in, particularly when she's doing year 11 and 12 and wants to go to university."
