In the city of Bui, Kostroma region, educators, deputies and parents opposed the closure of kindergarten No. 2 "Ivushka", which brings up more than 60 children, the REGNUM correspondent reports. Educators assure that in the summer of 2020, the authorities promised not to close the institution, but radically changed their decision a few months later.
“On the closure of the kindergarten from January 1, 2021, we, educators, were informed by officials from the education department of the city administration. This happened at the general meeting of the collective on October 26. It was like a knife in the back! Back in June 2020, we went to the administration of Igor Ralnikov (head of Buy - IA REGNUM) so that he congratulated the kindergarten on its anniversary, and at the same time asked about the rumors about the closure that were spreading around the city throughout the year. Earlier, there was really a meeting in the administration, at which it was proposed to convert our kindergarten into a museum. He assured us that there is no need to worry, the kindergarten will not be closed, and it is too expensive to convert the premises into a museum. And now, two months later, officials come to us and say that the birth rate is falling, the kindergarten is unprofitable to maintain, and in general the building is in poor condition, kindergarten teacher Maya Sigeikina told the news agency.
The head of Buy, Igor Ralnikov, confirmed the information about the closure of the kindergarten. According to him, the decision to dissolve the preschool institution is due to "reasonable expediency", the demographic situation and the budget's desire to save money on the maintenance of the institution.
“The need to optimize the network of preschool educational institutions in the city is due to reasonable expediency. The attendance of kindergarten No.2 is currently 41 children, while the availability of vacancies in other kindergartens in the city is 64. The total amount allocated from the local budget for the maintenance of the institution is 4.7 million rubles per year. If a decision is made (about closing - IA REGNUM), the local budget will save about 3.5 million rubles. At the same time, the building of the kindergarten, built in 1905, absolutely does not meet the requirements for a modern preschool educational institution. The building is planned to be left in the treasury until a variant of its use is found. There is an idea to transfer the local history museum of the city here, which will successfully fit into the look of the historical center"
Irina Andreeva, deputy of the Bui City Council, spoke out against "optimization at the expense of children". The politician believes that the shortage of pupils in the kindergarten was created artificially.
“I believe that the closing of the kindergarten is someone's“wishlist”. In the summer, the authorities assured that there would be no closure, but work on this was still carried out. It is believed that the shortage of children in the kindergarten was created artificially - when distributing children in 2020, this kindergarten was given the least number of pupils. This question is painful for me - my daughter works here, my grandchildren go to kindergarten. I do not accept any kind of closure of this kind. It was not our generation that opened this kindergarten - it has been working since 1993, and we are just destroying everything, not trying to save it. And the building there is good, ecology, a river, fresh air - just an ideal place for raising children"
Despite the fact that the administration offers parents places in other kindergartens, most of the parents intend to refuse this option and write complaints to higher authorities. People are outraged that the decision to close the kindergarten was not discussed with them in advance.
“Administration, hear the people! Don't bully our children! Both of my children go to this kindergarten with great pleasure, they love the educators and the team there is very friendly and close-knit. If the groups are disbanded in other kindergartens, the children will be like herrings in a barrel. Honestly, all parents are shocked by this news. I wish people were first asked what they think about the closure! I think that the city administration just liked this building - they want to use it for some of their own purposes and decided to step over the children,”said local resident Anastasia Tsvetkova.
“My child is used to kindergarten, we go there for three years. The educators are wonderful and know the approach to children. The transition to another kindergarten will be difficult for us, I do not want to injure my child and myself with worries. There were no warnings - neither the administration nor the education department came to us. Today, after the people's anger and disputes, the deputy of the city council Olga Felker came to our kindergarten. She suggested extending the work of the kindergarten until September 2021, and then transferring the entire team to the base of kindergarten No.5. But we are adults and we understand that it is unrealistic to keep the entire team and move the entire kindergarten. It seems that they just want to temporarily calm us down. But we don’t believe, and if we don’t find understanding in the region, we will go further, right up to the president,”parent Ekaterina Provorova shared her opinion with a reporter.
The question of the fate of the kindergarten in Bui will be discussed on October 28 - on this date, a meeting of the city council is scheduled. They plan to invite parents and representatives of the kindergarten to the meeting. IA REGNUM will follow the development of the situation.
