There is trouble with the municipal nursery. Parents are relying on rumors and recalling the mayor’s campaign promises

In February, our editorial office received an email from a parent:

The closure of the only municipal nursery is yet another incentive for young people to leave Bolesławiec. Have the rumors I mentioned reached you? Would you be able to verify them at the source? Regards, a worried parent

The promise to build a municipal nursery was made during the campaign of the Piotr Roman Electoral Committee. The nursery unit at Preschool No. 5 was supposed to be renovated in 2024. It was not.

“At a meeting with parents, a representative of the city office presented a beautiful vision of new nursery rooms and said that after the renovation, parents would be able to apply for subsidies for their children’s stay at the facility,” a parent recounts Renata Szewczyk’s meeting during the 2024 election campaign.

In January 2025, parents of children from the municipal nursery unit at Preschool No. 5 began to worry. They were hearing only rumors and unverified information that the municipal nursery would be closed because, allegedly, attendance was too low, and that the teachers employed there were being asked to look for other jobs.

“There are four people employed in the unit who, as far as I know, are losing their jobs today,” says a parent. “Apparently someone told them, just to silence them, that they would have priority at other preschools, but these people are afraid because they have nursery-care qualifications and cannot work. It is also being said that the older employees can already retire. And these women are asking to be saved,” the parent adds.

Preschool director Violetta Jaworowska could not find time to speak with the parents. She also did not want to speak with our editorial office, unjustifiably citing a lack of authority to provide information.

“In mid-January, one of the women asked me to declare whether my child would continue attending,” a parent recounts the situation in the nursery unit. “I asked what had changed, because for the child’s sake I wanted them to attend the same nursery and preschool, as they had already adapted well and the staff were professional. She replied that the child was two and a half years old, so from September they would move to a preschool group. But in September the child would still be three months short of the required age, and it would be best for me to take the child somewhere else for those three months and return with them to the preschool in December. But would there be places at that preschool then? No one knew, she replied,” the parent adds.

Piotr Roman’s campaign promises: the mechanism

On August 16, 2023, the mayor signed an agreement with the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office. The funding (PLN 1,302,416.03) was supposed to cover the adaptation of part of the Municipal Public Preschool No. 5 building to create 32 places for children under three. This was supposed to become a new nursery and the only public one in Bolesławiec. Work was supposed to begin in the second quarter of 2024; it was the main investment task for 2024, included in the budget.

The deputy mayor Renata Szewczyk told parents about the investment and the plans. One mother was recently informed that she is no longer dealing with the matter. She was particularly involved in it during the campaign before the local elections in April 2024.

There are just under 40 children in two units at the municipal nursery. During the campaign, the calculation was simple for the campaign staff: 40 children meant 80 parents. That could mean potentially 100, or even more, votes when interested members of the extended family were included. One parent admitted in a conversation with us that during the election they were interested in who would win and wanted it to be Roman’s people. After all, they were the ones promising a new nursery for the child.

Unfortunately, reality has tested this campaign promise. One can only wonder whether promising a new nursery was excessive, calculated, or whether Roman will truly deliver on the promise. Judging by what the spokesperson explains, there is a chance.

“The Municipality of Bolesławiec plans an investment to adapt part of the Municipal Public Preschool No. 5 building to create 32 places for children under three,” informs Agnieszka Gergont. “This investment will not only help meet the current Sanepid recommendations, but will also improve the quality of care provided. It is also worth emphasizing that after the renovation, the Municipality of Bolesławiec will receive funding of PLN 837 per child per month for three years. This funding is currently unavailable,” the spokesperson adds.

The municipal nursery was excellent campaign sausage, but too expensive

The tender for the renovation is to be announced in February 2025, while enrollment for nursery-age children is planned only after the construction work is completed. When will it be completed? That cannot be determined. So will the children return to the nursery unit at Preschool No. 5 from September 2025? Between the lines, we can read that this is not worthwhile for either the municipality or the parents.

“Today, the fee for a child in the nursery group at MPP No. 5 in Bolesławiec is PLN 1,094 including meals,” explains the City Office spokesperson. “In the current situation, transforming the nursery unit into a municipal nursery, that is, opening an independent nursery, is not only an organizational issue but also a financial one: higher nursery fees, related to the need to hire additional staff, including a director, could place a significant burden on parents. Currently, the average cost of maintaining one child at this facility is PLN 3,000 per month. With parents paying PLN 1,094 per month, the remaining amount is covered by the city budget and is almost PLN 2,000 per month, but if the independent nursery proposed in the question, with its own management and administration, were established, the subsidy paid by Bolesławiec taxpayers would increase to over PLN 2,500 per month per child,” informs Agnieszka Gergont.

According to data provided by the spokesperson, there are 448 nursery-age children in Bolesławiec, while available nurseries, nursery clubs and day-care providers have 204 places. Publicly available data collected by the city office show that fees for a child’s stay are generally between PLN 1,300 and PLN 1,500 per month, excluding meals and discounts, while at three facilities they range from PLN 2,010 to PLN 2,230, also excluding meals and discounts.

“It is also worth noting that other entities are already interested in creating new nursery places and want to offer approximately 20 additional places,” adds Agnieszka Gergont. “For those who cannot take up employment, additional support is available in the form of the ‘Active at Home’ benefit, amounting to PLN 500 per month. This solution is intended to support parents who do not meet the employment activity requirement but still want to provide their children with appropriate care. In summary, opening a new nursery in Bolesławiec involves many challenges, including financial ones, which may influence parents’ decisions about childcare,” the city spokesperson concludes.

According to the latest information, a meeting is to be organized with the parents of the nursery unit. However, that too is only a promise.