Students from Gossau should receive tablets

On Tuesday, the Gossau city parliament discussed the acquisition of tablets for pupils from the fifth grade. Another topic is the lack of a pedestrian crossing at the “Freihof” and the contribution for Sana Fürstenland AG.

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The next session of the Gossau city parliament on June 29th begins with a tribute to city councilor Claudia Martin. She was recently elected President of the Cantonal Council. Due to the corona situation, however, the city had to forego a reception. Parliament is now making up for this on a small scale, as stated in a communication.

After that, three business transactions are on the program. Parliament has to decide on the acquisition of tablets for all pupils from the fifth grade onwards. The city council applied for a loan of 930,000 francs for this purpose. The preliminary advisory commission (VBK) supports the project. She believes that there is a need to invest in education, she said.

The VBK has discussed whether laptops should be procured for the pupils instead of tablets. According to the communication, however, an evaluation showed clear advantages for the tablet – also financially. If parliament approves the loan, the devices could be used in schools after the 2022 summer vacation. By then, the teachers would have completed the relevant training.

The pedestrian crossing at the “Freihof” is a matter for the canton

Another topic at the meeting is an interpellation in which parliamentarians inquire whether the city council is willing to have a pedestrian crossing rebuilt at the Freihof. The city council said that pedestrian safety at this location was a major concern. Therefore, the city is applying to the cantonal civil engineering office to implement a safe crossing.

The city council points out that Flawilerstrasse is a cantonal road and that the city cannot take any structural precautions. And he reminds us that the canton removed the pedestrian crossing because it was not used enough.

A preliminary advisory commission is also to be set up on Tuesday for the contribution of 800,000 francs to Sana Fürstenland AG to compensate for the Corona failures. The parliamentary session in the Fürstenlandsaal is public for the first time in a long time and is not broadcast on the Internet. It is compulsory to wear a mask.