Büchen: ABB continues for extensive school expansion

Büchen (pm). The compromise reached on November 3rd in the administrative committee of the school association to recommend to the school association that the expansion of the Büchen school center with the expansion of the elementary school and parts of the open all-day school (OGS) including the cafeteria should now begin, according to the active citizens of Büchen (FIG ) a step in the right direction. For the partial expansion, new millions of euros are to be budgeted for the school association. It remains to be seen whether this compromise will find a majority of the twelve school association communities at the school association meeting on November 24th.

The public meeting was attended by numerous parents who voiced their well-founded concern that although all communities want to grow, the school center is only being expanded slowly and not as needed. The faction of the voter community Active Citizens Büchen (ABB) continues to support the originally planned comprehensive school expansion, which also includes the community school and was planned with an investment volume of around thirteen million euros.

The need for school expansion has been proven by the school development concept of the biregio project group and is geared towards a continuation of the development phase for the school years 2019/2020 to 2024/2025 with an outlook on the development of the number of students up to and beyond 2030. The concept takes into account both the demographic development and other indicators that are decisive for the development of communities close to conurbations.

According to ABB, the large number of pupils expected in primary school next year would also require a place in the community school from 2025. In addition, the legal right of parents to full-day care will apply from 2025. “Not only increasing numbers of pupils, but also modern educational concepts require additional rooms in the school center in order to meet the demands of modern education”, as Maria Rodriguez Gonzalez aptly states.
The school administrators of both schools presented the requirements at the various meetings of the school association and answered questions from parents in these meetings.

From the perspective of ABB, the costs of expanding the school cannot be reduced by delaying the expansion of the community school. On the contrary, expensive temporary solutions, for example with containers, expected rising construction costs and the rescheduling of the construction sections would incur additional costs for the school association.

For the entire school expansion, the administration has also drawn up a viable financing concept over a term of 30 years and an interest rate of around 0.3 percent, which will reduce the total loan expense for the school association from 2025/2026 with repayment-free years and simultaneous repayment of existing loans. According to ABB, a point of criticism that is repeatedly presented is the high number of guest students at the community school with around 34 percent. This circumstance is due, among other things, to the free choice of school, but causes a higher burden on the school association compared to communities that do not belong to any school association. But here, too, an improvement is foreseeable.

A new financial equalization law in the state would gradually increase the contributions for guest students until 2024 and bring them closer to the contributions within the school association, a regulation that is long overdue from the perspective of ABB. This will reduce the burden within the school association.

Overall, from the perspective of ABB, the facts speak for a comprehensive school expansion in order to make the school center fit for the future and to meet the demands of modern education. The investments for the school expansion are high at first glance. But they are investments for the future, because education ensures our prosperity.

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