»We invest in education«

The majority of city councilors voted in favor of the new workshop building for the Theodor Litt School in Giessen. It should cost around 21.4 million euros.

Pour (wood). The construction of the new workshop building at the Theodor Litt School is not without controversy. This also became clear at the recent city council meeting. Klaus Peter Möller (CDU) criticized, among other things, the construction costs estimated at around 21.4 million euros. “Experience shows that there will be more,” said the parliamentary group leader. “We invest in education, not just in Sunday speeches,” replied SPD parliamentary group leader Christopher Nübel. And referred, for example, to the “innovative” concept of the building using wooden construction.

“It’s basically understandable why this option was chosen,” added Lutz Hiestermann. The leader of the Gigg+Volt parliamentary group recalled that the school ensures the training of skilled workers. His group agrees because it is time to “finally go in a new direction”. Möller, however, questioned whether the building and thus an investment of this magnitude was necessary. A total of 64 million euros are currently planned for a total of three school construction projects. »We don’t have the money in other places. We would be in favor of extending one of the projects in order to reduce the burden on the budget,” argued the Christian Democrat. On top of that, there doesn’t seem to be any money available for the Giessen basketball location. Nübel countered with a reference to the CDU’s skilled workers campaign in the state election campaign. »The project is supported by the district craftsmen’s association and the IHK. Skilled workers are the economic factor of the future,” the Social Democrat made clear. The school’s “innovative concept” not only saves construction time, but also “almost six million euros compared to conventional construction methods.”

In the end, the majority of the city parliament approved the project with the coalition of the Greens, SPD and Giessen Left, Gigg+Volt and city councilors Andrea Junge and Martina Lennartz. The CDU voted against, the FDP, Free Voters and AfD abstained.

The city plans to replace both existing buildings, which currently house the school workshop, with a two-story wooden frame building. Because “the workshops of the Theodor Litt School built in the 1960s and 1970s no longer meet the technical, pedagogical and energy requirements and have significant structural defects. Overall, further use has reached its limits. For example, the current performance of the electrical installations does not allow further connection of new machines, which, in view of technological developments, significantly impairs qualified training,” says the magistrate’s submission.

The new building, which the city plans to build between 2024 and 2026, is currently undergoing DGNB sustainability certification for the “Sustainable Building Quality Seal”. Because of the preliminary tests that have already been carried out, the magistrate assumes that certification can be achieved.