Wykroty is a large village. More than 1,800 people live there. And the middle school, as the residents themselves admit, is the heart of their community, something they hold particularly dear. The school building, once a ruin, was renovated thanks to their work and largely with their money. “In fact, the entire burden of maintaining the schools rested on the parents,” says Małgorzata Sokalska, the school’s headmistress. The Nowogrodziec Municipality contributed little from its own funds.
If the middle school is closed—which everything indicates will happen—around 100 children will have to commute to school in Nowogrodziec. “I cannot imagine our children travelling to a giant school,” says Roma Gosławska, president of the Integration and Future of the Wykroty and Zagajnik Village Communities Association.
The residents of Wykroty are concerned that their children, who will probably have to join the middle-school classes already operating in Nowogrodziec, will feel anonymous at the new school. In Wykroty, contact between teachers and parents is definitely easier. Problems are easier to resolve. In Nowogrodziec, things will be completely different, the residents fear. What is more, the children will have to get up an hour earlier to reach their classes. “When will they get home? When will they do their homework?” worries Amalia Franków. “Why doesn’t the mayor understand this?” “Parents should decide which school their child attends. It is not the walls that create a school, but the atmosphere,” adds Roma Gosławska.
“We absolutely do not object to the fact that something is being built in Nowogrodziec,” explains Małgorzata Sokalska. Nevertheless, the village residents resent the municipal authorities for having promised them for 10 years that a school complex would be established in Wykroty. “It was a beautiful and ambitious plan,” says Agnieszka Ancygier, a lifelong resident of Wykroty. A sports field and a new school were supposed to be built. Construction of the new building did begin, but… in Nowogrodziec. Later, the promises of establishing a school complex were repeated—with similar results.
What further outrages the Wykroty community is the fact that no one consulted the village residents about the decision. As Roma Gosławska says, there were no public consultations this year. They had been successfully organised in February 2007. At that time, by decision of the Education Authority in Wrocław, the school was not closed.
On 31 January 2008, residents met with Mayor Robert Relich and the councillors. They asked the mayor why he wanted to close their middle school. According to them, Robert Relich did not provide a specific response. He merely let slip that there was a demographic decline in Nowogrodziec. However, the Wykroty community remembers that in his election programme Robert Relich promised not to close any school. “The mayor behaved like a real politician,” fumes Jan Kaśków.
In the residents’ opinion, the mayor treats Wykroty as a poor relation. There are no renovations here. No investments. The roads are potholed and unlit. There are no pavements. Residents fear for their children’s safety—for the possibility that in winter they will have to walk along these roads to the bus stop. “The councillors have not seen our school,” says an outraged Franciszka Żółtańska. “Some of them do not even know what they will be voting against.” The residents suspect that money is the issue. “Our children have become bargaining chips,” claims Barbara Wójtowicz from Wykroty, a councillor of the Nowogrodziec Municipality. “They simply want to make money from them,” she adds. The decision to close the middle school is due to be made on 5 February.
What next?
A health centre is to be established in the current middle-school building. But the residents firmly support the local school. “We want to stay in Wykroty,” says Małgorzata Sokalska. “We are proud of our municipality. We want parents to be heard and their right to decide their own future to be respected,” she adds. What, then, will the Wykroty community do to prevent its school from being closed? During the council session, the village residents want to collectively express their support for building a school complex in Wykroty. “Protest is a last resort,” they insist.
Deputy mayor rejects the allegations
“This is a very difficult decision for the entire local government of the Nowogrodziec Municipality,” says Bogusław Szeffs, deputy mayor of Nowogrodziec. “For the good of the local community, this solution seems optimal, the best one. In reality, the desire to make money is not the factor determining the municipal authorities’ decision. The savings would continue to be allocated to education, particularly to the badly neglected buildings of rural schools,” he adds.
As Szeffs explains, the municipal authorities’ decision is dictated by the premises available, the number of children in Wykroty and the greater opportunities that the Nowogrodziec middle school can offer students. “That is what determined that this particular school should be closed,” the official notes. Moreover, several months ago the Lower Silesian education superintendent gave a favourable opinion on the planned closure of the school in Wykroty. “The inspector concluded that the school does not meet basic standards,” adds Robert Relich’s deputy.
When asked whether the residents of Wykroty had a chance to prevent the middle school’s closure, Bogusław Szeffs replied: “There is always still time for discussions. The actual closure cannot take place before 1 September.”