The Socialists have warned that these cuts come at a time when Zaragoza continues to grow and schools’ maintenance needs are increasing. Ortiz criticised the city council for reducing these allocations while boasting of having a historic budget, which the municipal government itself has described as “an expansionary budget”.
The PSOE councillor questioned the priorities of Chueca’s administration and its management of the municipal accounts. “Ultimately, the impression is that they are trying to balance the budget by brute force through extraordinary credit amendments, resulting from the fact that there is no implementation, and the message being sent is that the education community, instead of being treated as a priority, is bearing the brunt of one of those blows,” he criticised.
CUTS TO CLEANING AND HEATING IN ZARAGOZA SCHOOLS
Guillermo Ortiz detailed these budget reductions at the Education Committee meeting held earlier this week at Zaragoza City Council. According to figures presented by the Socialist councillor, the fuel and heating allocation has fallen from €1.5 million to €1.1 million, while funding for cleaning schools and sports halls has been cut from €12.3 million to €10.5 million.
These cuts have been accompanied by a €100,000 reduction in funding for extraordinary, improvement and emergency works, leaving the allocation at €1.7 million. Ortiz also warned that, although the general allocation for repairs to school buildings has remained at €208,600, a specific €30,000 allocation for repairs at schools in rural districts has disappeared.
The PSOE believes these budget decisions show that public education is not among the priorities of Chueca’s government or the People’s Party, as funding for the daily operation of schools is being reduced while the administration announces expansionary accounts. In this regard, Ortiz recalled that Javier Lambán’s government promoted eight educational centres to respond to Zaragoza’s growth, including those in Arcosur and Parque Venecia.
“The needs of a city that is expanding have increased considerably, yet we see that many allocations directly related to the maintenance and climate control of educational centres, which also fall under municipal responsibility, are being reduced,” Ortiz explained.
PSOE CALLS FOR BOILER BREAKDOWNS TO BE AVOIDED THIS WINTER
The Socialists have called on Natalia Chueca to increase investment in improving Zaragoza’s public schools and ensure that their facilities receive proper maintenance, particularly with the colder months approaching. They have also stressed the need to provide climate control in educational centres to address the heatwaves occurring in Spain.
Ortiz has asked the city council to anticipate climate control and maintenance problems to prevent breakdowns that could harm students and their families. “We are constructively asking for the current situation to be improved, so that in November and December we do not have so many reports of boilers breaking down or students being cold, and so these needs are addressed in the budget instead of being cut,” he stressed.
The Socialist councillor also demanded greater coordination between the municipal departments and the Government of Aragon to address the needs of public schools. He also called for the bilateral meetings that the Socialist Group has requested on several occasions and which, he denounced, Azcón has not arranged during these years.
