CVP Buchs declines credit for the Kappeli school room extension

The project costs 25.5 million francs. The local party does not agree and calls for improvements and a cost-optimized variant.

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The city council of Buchs would like to invest 25.5 million francs in two extensions and the design of the surrounding area for the Kappeli school building. According to the explanations in the voting brochure, a functional and architecturally appealing overall system is to be created, which connects the existing school building with the two extensions.

The city council justifies the additional space requirement primarily with the steadily increasing number of schoolchildren.

Not against enlargement, the cost is too high

The party leadership of the CVP Buchs does not oppose an expansion of the existing school infrastructure, on the contrary, it says in a media release, and further:

“An additional space requirement appears to be entirely plausible in view of the continuing population growth.”

In addition, it is right and also important to teach the young generation in functional and functionally well-developed school buildings.

But then the but follows the CVP party leadership. It is difficult to understand and is not explained in more detail in the voting brochure, why more than 25 million francs should be spent on the building project. This enormous sum is, for example, much higher than the loans for the expansion of the school facilities in Räfis (18.1 million francs) and Hanfland (12.6 million francs).

More cost-effective project required

It should be possible to create the additional space required for the Kappeli school building with significantly less financial resources. Therefore, the party leadership of the CVP Buchs refuses the loan for the expansion of the Kappeli school complex and demands that the city council work out a more cost-effective project.

Questioning investments

The city of Buchs is financially in an unpleasant situation. The current development gives cause for concern, it says in the press release. On the one hand, the debt has increased in recent years and, on the other hand, Buchs is in danger of losing ground in tax competition. The downward spiral requires countermeasures, whereby the increasing imbalance between income and expenditure should not only be countered unilaterally with tax increases, but also savings measures are necessary.

“For this reason, investment projects such as the expansion of the Kappeli school complex need to be scrutinized even more critically than before. What is desirable is to be separated from what is necessary. ”

The financial budget of the city of Buchs needs relief. With a no to the loan application, the first step in the right direction is taken. A rejection of the loan application opens up the opportunity for a more cost-effective but convincing project that is better tailored to the finances of the city of Buchs, according to the CVP top. (pd)

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