Monday, September 05, 2011

You could see this coming

When you read that Bigastro council were planning to cut the staff at the pre-school Bigastrin from 22 to 13 (9 teachers and 4 assistants) you just knew that the parents would not approve.

The council has to make cuts in its budget and everyone understands that, they just don’t want the cuts to be made in areas that will affect them.

The parents regard the school as one of the best in the region and even though a court ruled that the fees charged could not be justified, they were willing to pay them. Parents now say they would rather pay the 110 Euros per month and have the same quality of provision than save 20 Euros for something which they feel will be inferior.

The other issue of concern for the parents is the reduction in hours; the council say that the deficit can be made up with extra curricular activities but for the parents that is not the same thing.

The parents’ association requested a meeting with the mayor and have been told that the Councillor for Education, Aurelio Murcia will hold a meeting with all of the parents. It is now getting close to the beginning of term and nothing has happened so far on that score.

As I see it, the council have two choices; they can either accede to the wishes of the parents and bear the cost or they can weather the storm until it rides out. If they decide on the former course of action then any plans they have for cuts elsewhere will face the same resistance and the town will be in a financial mess for ever more.

The council really are between a rock and a hard place on this one.

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