“We hoped to be able to announce a return to school a week late, but the rectorate told us that it would be October 28 and not before,” sighs Rania Segura. The treasurer of the Campus Montessori association still doesn’t understand. The school set up by the association in 2018 was not able to return to school like the others due to an administrative hiccup.
To understand the reasons for this failure, we must go back to November 2022. At that time, the school occupied municipal premises located in Savigny-le-Temple (Seine-et-Marne), a commune which depends on the academy of Creteil. After five years, the municipality tells the association that it wishes to recover the premises made available after a dispute linked to payment difficulties on the part of the association. The latter then began looking for a new building capable of accommodating the approximately 50 students aged 3 to 15 schooled within the institution.
She ended up finding a suitable place in Lieusaint, a town in Seine-et-Marne which also depends on the Créteil academy. Everything seems to be coming together perfectly for school. But the situation got out of hand at the beginning of July. “The private lessor who was supposed to rent the premises to us has withdrawn,” explains the president of the association, Gilles Lacroix.
A change of academy which poses a problem
A race against time begins to find a new establishment. “We were really lucky, we found premises 10 minutes by transport from the old school,” he explains. The building in question is a former leisure center located in the heart of the Sénart forest in the commune of Saint-Pierre-du-Perray, in Essonne. Administrative procedures have been launched and development work is carried out inside the building to accommodate the students.
The situation then seems to be on the verge of being resolved… This was without taking into account an elementary aspect: upon arriving in Essonne, the structure also changed academy and now depends on the Versailles rectorate. However, the Montessori campus is part of the category of private establishments outside of contract, and in accordance with the legislation any establishment of this type must be the subject of a declaration of creation to the rectorate.
The rector then transmits this declaration to the mayor of the municipality, the prefect and the public prosecutor, and the latter have three months to object to the opening of the school. Until the period has expired, the establishment cannot open its doors. This is exactly what is happening at Campus Montessori.
“What we don’t understand is that it’s not a creation but simply a move,” insists Rania Segura, whose daughter is educated within the structure. We asked that exceptionally, the procedure could be accelerated thanks to the express agreement of the mayor, the prefecture and the prosecutor. We are not a new school, we have existed for five years and we have already been subject to two inspections by the academic inspectorate. But we had the rectorate, they told us that it would be October 28 and not before…”
“An incompressible legal period of three months”
“The Montessori campus submitted a declaration on July 28, 2023 to open a private establishment outside of a contract in Saint-Pierre-du-Perray,” replies the Versailles academy. The education code provides for an incompressible legal period of three months between the observation of the completeness of the declaration file and the start of the reception of students. »
In its response, the academy reports that “the rector, the prefect, the mayor and the prosecutor have the possibility of opposing the opening of the establishment. No explicit authorization to open can be issued by any of the four authorities before the expiration of the three-month period. »
The town hall vigilant about security
“We are not opposed to this opening,” reacts Mayor Dominique Verots (without label). However, as I explained to Mr. Lacroix, I ask that all safety aspects for children and staff be ensured. There are still a few points left, notably fire safety. We, the public authorities, must ensure security. This is our priority. » Asked to know their position on the subject, the Essonne prefecture and the Évry public prosecutor’s office did not respond to our requests.
Saint-Pierre-du-Perray (Essonne), Friday September 8, 2023. The Campus Montessori team, here represented by the director Quentin Sauvage, the president of the association Gilles Lacroix and the treasurer Rania Segura, is waiting the green light from the rectorate to open the school.
Given the situation, some parents have already informed the association that they will not wait until then. “The problem is that since the school is not under contract, it does not receive subsidies and it only operates thanks to tuition fees paid by parents,” explains Rania Segura. If we no longer have enough students, we put the school in danger. » Furthermore, the president of the Campus Montessori association insists on the importance of the establishment for these students.
“Through our pedagogy, we allow children who cannot fit into a traditional system to find an education,” insists Gilles Lacroix. The structure has approximately 40% of children with “dys disorders” (dyslexia, dysorthography, dysphasia), autistic disorders or who carry the gene responsible for trisomy 21. “By definition, these children cannot be placed in the system. »
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