Shouting and controversy at the session. School-kindergarten teams have become a fact.
The last session of the Przemyśl City Council took a surprising turn, as the topic of merging Przemyśl's primary schools with preschools was revisited. We have already reported on the idea of establishing school-kindergarten complexes in Przemyśl several times. As during the session on June 30th of this year, at which the resolution was to be voted on,
[middle1]On the resolution on the establishment of the School and Kindergarten Complex No. 1 in Przemyśl, the required quorum of 12 councilors was lacking (seven left the room in protest), and the meeting was not concluded, with the continuation date set for July 28th of this year. And it was on Monday, July 28th, that the meeting resumed, with a vote immediately proceeding on the resolution on the establishment of the first school and kindergarten complex in the city (assuming the merger of Primary School No. 15 and Municipal Kindergarten No. 13). This time, all councilors from the ruling coalition showed up, voting "in favor" (Robert Bal, Bartłomiej Barczak, Paweł Bugera, Przemysław Bukowski, Paweł Grabas, Tomasz Jaroch, Monika Jaworska, Rafał Kijanka, Marcin Kowalski, Marcin Maciołek, Anna Sienkiewicz, Dariusz Tkacz). They were also supported by independent councilor Ewa Sawicka, for a total of 13 votes in favor. Ten abstained (Anna Grad-Mizgała, Liliana Kalinowska, Maciej Kamiński, Jerzy Krużel, Piotr Krzeszowski, Ryszard Kulej, Paweł Rząsa, Grażyna Stojak, Stanisław Surma, Janusz Zapotocki). The latter of these abstained later in the session in protest at not being allowed to speak. "I am suspending my presence from the session," he said as he left the room. There were more unusual situations. Before the vote, Councilor Maciej Kamiński, who attempted to submit a formal motion to remove the item from the agenda, and MP Marek Rząsa, who was present at the session and intended to submit comments and motions regarding the bill, were also denied a vote. The latter announced that he would submit a motion to the voivode to repeal the adopted resolution on formal grounds, which he did, in a letter questioning the correctness of the resolution's procedure.
– The first reason is the rejection of the formal motion submitted by the councilor, the second – not giving me the floor before the vote – he said.
The voivode's role will be to assess the adopted resolution for potential violations. Councilor R. Kulej also noted at the session that, despite being asked to speak, he was not given one before the vote.
Discussion of the resolution ultimately took place, but only after the fact, that is, after its content had been voted on. As MP M. Rząsa noted in his letter to the voivode, submitting comments and motions regarding the content of the resolution after the vote is simply pointless, and... it's hard to disagree.
Exciting speechesAfter the vote, Councillor Kamiński, who was allowed to speak, noted that the entire process of merging the institutions had been going on for about six months, and yet – in his opinion – no real evidence had been presented that such a step would be beneficial.
"Why change something that functions well and create an experimental creation?" he asked. "A preschool is not a school, and a school is not a preschool. Both institutions have different missions and tasks to fulfill," he argued.
The idea of creating school and kindergarten teams was defended by the head of the Department of Education and Sports, Renata Kochanowicz-Chalicka, who emphasized that The main reason for merging educational institutions is the increasing decline in the number of children in Przemyśl's schools and preschools. She also assured that there will be no changes in the organization of preschools and schools ( mergers will only occur at the management and administrative-economic level, and the units will remain in their current locations). and that the city hall provides employees with a guarantee of employment , and administrative positions will be reduced only through retirement or voluntary transfers.
– We guarantee that there will be no job losses – she said in the context of another resolution being voted on – this time regarding increasing teaching hours for heads of future preschool institutions in school-kindergarten complexes ( school-kindergarten complexes will be managed by a director, while the position of a kindergarten director will be created in each kindergarten) . Relieving them of the duties related to the position of director will be associated with an increase in the number of hours devoted to working with children (now it is from 6 to 12 hours, and will be from 15 to 17 – depending on the size of the kindergarten and the number of classes).
"Wouldn't this mean that teaching hours would be taken away from other teachers in this situation?" Councilor L. Kalinowska asked. She also asked how this would affect their salaries.
Head R. Kochanowicz-Chalicka, however, emphasized that the change will primarily affect directors, as 17 will have to be dismissed, as only 7 will be needed to run 7 school and kindergarten teams.
"Competitions will be announced for these positions. I understand the frustration of principals, but for teachers, especially in smaller institutions, this change is a chance to maintain their employment. I'm surprised you don't see it. The number of preschool classes is decreasing, and demographics are inexorable," she said.
When asked why – due to the decrease in the number of children – smaller groups in kindergartens cannot be created, she replied that the number of 25 children in a group is specified by law, and its reduction automatically translates into an increase in subsidies for private kindergartens in the city.
The increase in teaching hours for heads of institutions was finally voted on at the session with 13 votes "for" and 9 "against" (voting arrangement as before, the only change was one councilor absent - J. Zapotocki).
Further votes without prior noticeThe word "consultations" was also a point of interest in the discussion.
"The opinions of trade unions, parents, and today's attendance clearly show that people don't want these changes. Can this be ignored?" asked Councilor L. Kalinowska.
"Many such consultations have taken place," assured R. Kochanowicz-Chalicka. MP M. Rząsa, in turn, emphasized that the consultations are intended to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the planned change. "Have you heard from officials about their weaknesses so far?" he asked the audience. The response was: "No."
Barbara Kapuścińska, director of Kindergarten No. 13 in Przemyśl, also delivered an emotional speech at the session. She addressed...
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