“Crucial importance in preserving local cultural identity.” Calls for Pāle elementary school to be preserved

The informal organization, in which approximately 150 people are said to have united, calls to “evaluate and delve into the essence of the existence of cultural spaces”, emphasizing the role of preserving educational institutions in the territories of cultural spaces recorded in the Latvian National Cultural Heritage List.

“We draw attention to the fact that the amendments to the Education Law initiated by the Ministry of Education and Science and the evaluation of the performance of schools in rural and sparsely populated areas are evaluated only quantitative indicators. The evaluation does not carry out a significant analysis of the importance of specific settlements in a cultural and historical context, including evaluating the importance of rural schools in the formation of local cultural identity and the heritability of living heritage,” emphasizes Ozoliņa.

The representatives of “Vidzeme’s Libyan cultural space” believe that Pāle elementary school is one of the “social, educational and cultural centers of Vidzeme’s Libyan cultural space, which has a crucial role in preserving the local cultural identity”. The closure of Pāle elementary school endangers the “reconstruction, preservation and transmission of the Libyan cultural heritage of Vidzeme”.

According to the data collected by the Limbažu District Education Board, at the beginning of this year, 58 students studied at the primary school in Pāle, 13 teachers and nine technical staff worked. Preschool groups also operate in the school.

“We invite you to preserve the Pāle primary school, allowing us to ensure the preservation and passing on of Latvian cultural heritage, strengthening Latvia and its values. The annual costs of the school from the state budget are planned to be around 371,000 euros, including funding from the municipal budget of around 74,000 euros per year. We ask you to find a solution in the national on a scale so that it will be possible to finance the operation of Pāle elementary school in the future,” the open letter says.

The open letter is addressed to the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Education and Science, the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Finance, the Saeima Education, Culture and Science Commission and the local government. It was signed by Ozoliņa and the chairman of the board of the association “Make Art” Reinis Druvietis.

As informed by Ilga Tiesnese, the head of the public relations department of the Limbažu district municipality, the management of the municipality in cooperation with the district Education Board has held several discussions about the district school network, but the decision to close any school, including the Pāle elementary school, has not been made.