A total of 12 schools in the municipality of Cartagena will be improved this summer with works funded directly by the City Council, which will allocate 360,965 euros to actions such as improvements to sports facilities, bathrooms, accessibility, waterproofing, and window replacement, so that «when the children return after the holidays, they can find their school environment improved.»
The mayor, Noelia Arroyo, announced this during a visit to the CEIP Beethoven in Nueva Cartagena, one of the centers with the highest investment this summer, with over 70,000 euros in works to renovate the sports field, windows, and structural improvements that have already begun. Some of these actions are funded by the regional government.
During her visit to the center, the mayor was accompanied by the school’s head of studies, Mª Jesús Diestro Manzano; the president of the PTA, Estefanía Box; the president of the neighborhood association, Antonio Molina; as well as the councilor for Education, Ignacio Jáudenes.
Arroyo recalled that «this school also participates in participatory budgets, so every year improvements are also made within that budget that the schools themselves decide where to invest.»
The school’s head of studies thanked that the works are carried out during the summer period, «so as not to disrupt the normal functioning of the center,» and highlighted that the students «will enjoy the new sports field very much because it is one of the needs that they have been requesting for many years, so it will be a spectacle, it will be great for them.»
In addition to the works carried out on the CEIP Beethoven sports field, other notable actions include improvements to sports facilities at Mastia, San Ginés de la Jara – Llano del Beal, and San Francisco Javier schools in Los Barreros; bathroom renovations at José María de la Puerta, Concepción Arenal, and Virgen de Begoña schools; waterproofing repairs at Primitiva López; improvement of accessibility and paving at Gabriela Mistral; and construction of an access ramp at the Jardines Early Childhood Education School.
Furthermore, the City Council allocates an additional 83,770.80 euros for the maintenance and basic supplies of all educational centers.
The mayor took the opportunity to point out that in addition to the improvement works carried out during the Christmas, Easter, and summer holidays, this year the new contract for the maintenance of educational centers that the City Council has launched begins, with an annual budget of 1.1 million euros, representing a 41% increase compared to the previous contract of 780,000 euros. The contract includes caring for the tree mass in the playgrounds to provide shade and the renovation of school sports fields.
All the actions and works carried out this summer, as well as those undertaken during Easter and Christmas, are carried out in coordination with the school’s management teams, municipal technicians, and the PTAs of the different centers, emphasized Arroyo, stressing that «the investment and planning we make in our schools is a demonstration of our commitment to quality education and comfortable and safe environments for our students.»
IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS
Among the works to be carried out with the City Council budget are the waterproofing and repair of the automatic door at Primitiva López school, with a total cost of 15,471.85 euros.
At José Mª La Puerta school, 36,308.85 euros will be invested in improvements to the bathrooms, at Virgen de Begoña 11,280.10 euros, while at Concepción Arenal 14,921.57 euros will be allocated for the same purpose.
Likewise, improvements will be made to the sports facilities of several schools: 30,965.25 euros will be invested in Mastia, 31,793.93 euros in San Ginés de la Jara-Llano del Beal, 26,006.94 euros in San Fco. Javier (Los Barreros), and 70,593.26 euros in Beethoven for the sports field and windows.
On the other hand, Gabriela Mistral school will have its access paved with an investment of 11,202.54 euros. Finally, at the Jardines Early Childhood Education School in Los Dolores, an access ramp will be built at a cost of 24,415.17 euros.
ASBESTOS REMOVAL WORKS
In addition to this municipal investment, this summer the asbestos removal will begin in five schools in the municipality, as part of the regional plan for the elimination of fibrocement in educational centers.
These schools are CEIP San Félix and Gabriela Mistral, where works have already started; CEIP Luis Vives, currently in the bidding phase; CEIP San Cristóbal (Los Dolores), pending award; and CEIP Santiago Apóstol (Miranda), awaiting approval of the intervention plan.
These actions are fully funded by the Autonomous Community, with a planned investment of 1.3 million euros. With these, by the end of this year, this material will have been removed in 70% of the municipality’s schools, according to the Asbestos Removal Plan.
