El AMPA de El Pedregal presenta más de 11.300 firmas en el Parlamento contra el cierre del centro.
Representatives of the Association of Mothers and Fathers (AMPA) of the El Pedregal Infant and Primary Education Center in Castro Urdiales have submitted more than 11,300 signatures to the Parliament of Cantabria on Thursday against the closure of the educational center.
The families have been supported by the parliamentary groups of the PSOE and PRC, as well as the Mayor of Castro, the socialist Susana Herrán, who have demanded that the regional government of the PP reverse this «unilateral decision against public education.»
The mayor of Castro has called on the Minister of Education, Sergio Silva, to «stop his strategy of leading us to a loss of rights in public education,» which he believes is «evident» through this decision to «close» the El Pedregal school.
Herrán has regretted that the City Council of Castro Urdiales has tried to propose alternatives to the closure to the government, with the aim of «finding solutions» and «not generating conflicts.»
Among these solutions, she has mentioned some alternatives proposed by the City Council, such as «reaching an agreement with the Barquín Hermoso Foundation,» which she sees as «easy,» as «it is about reaching an agreement with themselves,» since the government is part of the entity.
And in case it is an economic problem for the Foundation «as has been hinted at on some occasions,» Herrán has proposed increasing the monthly rent paid by Education to the Barquín Hermoso Foundation for the building.
The mayor has also suggested making another building available to accommodate El Pedregal or even acquiring the property by the City Council to become part of the municipal heritage, «as long as there is a commitment to maintain the school.»
Although the focus on the closure is on the Minister of Education, the mayor has asked the Cantabrian society not to forget that «the decision has the approval of the President of Cantabria from the PP,» María José Sáenz de Buruaga, and has been taken in a «unilateral, twisted, and sly» manner.
«They have a strategy to dismantle the public service in favor of partisan and personal interests and to lead us down the path of privatization,» Herrán warned, also criticizing that the City Council has tried to hold meetings with the government but in the last instances «we have received silence as a response.»
Despite this, she warned that they «will have to explain» because the City Council has filed a lawsuit against the decision of the Barquín Hermoso Foundation to terminate the lease contract for the building to the regional government.
EXCELLENT ENROLLMENT
On the other hand, the parliamentary spokesperson for the PSOE, Mario Iglesias, has reaffirmed the support of the socialists for the AMPA of El Pedregal and the City Council of Castro Urdiales, demanding that the government «not close a school with excellent enrollment and that many people want to study there.»
He also demanded respect from the Sáenz de Buruaga government «for the decisions of the Chamber,» which approved a motion last April to stop the closure of the school. «A month and a half later, deaf ears,» he denounced.
«The children of the El Pedregal school who want to continue studying there until they finish their education cannot bear the consequences,» emphasized Iglesias.
INCLUSION MODEL
Meanwhile, the PRC deputy and regionalist candidate for the upcoming regional elections, Paula Fernández, has conveyed the PRC’s rejection of the closure of El Pedregal and has stated that there are centers in Cantabria with a lower student ratio that remain open.
Therefore, she has reiterated her party’s support for families and demanded that Silva «listen to the mothers and fathers of Castro who have a school that is also a model of inclusion in Cantabria.»
«We will always defend El Pedregal and ensure that no schools, whether public or private, are closed in this autonomous community,» she concluded.
