Carlos Moedas met with the Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, and will take a strategic document to the Lisbon City Council that foresees an important increase in investment for the public school park. From what DN could learn, it will be applied in the educational charter, with impacts on the Municipal Master Plan, an in-depth intervention, albeit with 15-year plans, that is, that transcend the mandate of Carlos Moedas, who has governed Lisbon since 2021.
In this plan, the intervention in 49 schools over the next 15 years, in an investment that will amount to around 743 million euros. 306 million euros are also planned for new schools, in this case 12 to be included in the school park. In this case, for these five new schools, completion is expected in five years, so it was possible to know.
The proposal is presented by the Por Ti, Lisboa coalition, headed by Moedas, with eight councilors – now reinforced by Ana Simões Silva, councilor elected by Chega, who became independent until being included in the Executive with responsibilities.
The bad weather that hit the country also had consequences for schools in the capital. To the president of the municipality Carlos Moedas, several concerns were conveyed from both school groups and parents’ associations throughout the municipality. Twenty parents’ associations responded to the challenge from councilor Carolina Serrão, from Bloco de Esquerda, and were alarmed by the state of schools, describing a daily life hampered by a lack of structural conditions. The demands exceeded three dozen if we include the groups.
Vasco Moreira Rato, councilor for Urban Planning, Housing and Municipal Buildings, said two weeks ago in assembly that “there are no structural problems identified that put users at risk” and said there were “28 schools considered priority”, remembering that the “State would be responsible for 100% of the expenditure”, estimating it at “more than 600 million euros” in a school park in the municipality that has 141 schools. The Municipal Budget estimated the investment at 38 million. Now, we are moving forward with a budget of one billion euros, that is, approximately the value of an entire year’s investment by the municipality, but spread over 15 years.
The Left Bloc highlighted the need for intervention in 57 schools, talking about financing, on credit, of 83 million euros in the previous mandate because the due European funds had not been used. But the party argues that works were only planned in five schools, as a priority.
It was disclosed to DN that the councilor responsible for Education, Rodrigo de Mello Gonçalves (IL), is aware of these demands and has visited schools and met with representatives of the groups.
As many schools also recognize, in cases of electrical failure or falls from roofs or trees, The response has been forthcoming with some promptness and energy and civil protection teams have been called. However, they signal a lack of dissemination of reports and operational resolution.
Leave a Reply