Education | The city of Hyvinkää proposes to stop supporting the music college – “That’s where the downward spiral begins,” comments the principal

Hyvinkää has in recent days shaken up the list of cuts that city officials are presenting for 2025 to city services in order to balance the economy. In particular, cultural circles are shaken by the part of the cut list, where the city’s support for Hyvinkää’s music academy is proposed to be abolished completely.

For the year 2025, half of the city’s annual support for the music college is proposed to be cut, and at the same time there is talk of ending the support completely.

The city of Hyvinkää currently pays the music college a subsidy of 490,000 euros annually, of which 245,000 euros are now proposed to be cut first. The likely consequence of cutting support is also stated in the proposal: “The operation will probably end.”

Very well principal of the music school Sanna Ratia says that the quick schedule of the operation would practically collapse the operation of the music college. The year 2025 will start soon, and the teaching of the spring semester should in any case be carried out to the same extent as this fall.

“Yes, it would all collapse by next autumn,” says Ratia.

“In order for us to cover such a large proportion of the income, it would mean a huge increase in student fees and a reduction in operations. That, in turn, means losing the state share. And that’s where the downward spiral begins.”

Very well more than half of the music college’s funding, or about 990,000 euros, comes from the Ministry of Education and Culture’s state share based on the number of teaching hours. In addition to support from the city of Hyvinkää, the third significant source of income has been student fees, which in 2023 collected approximately 309,000 euros, or 17 percent of the annual income.

Hyvinkää’s music college currently has 645 students, of which about 200 are from Muskari. If the halving of the city’s support was replaced by an increase in student fees, it would increase each student’s fees by almost 400 euros. Currently, the student fee is 270 euros, with which you get 45 minutes of teaching the main subject per week during the semester.

“It’s different to raise the student fee regularly slightly than to double it all at once,” says principal Sanna Ratia.

“Even now, we have had to raise the student fee little by little. Until now, the city’s support for Hyvinkää’s music academy has been significant, for which we are grateful. This has been considered an important activity in Hyvinkää, which has been wanted to be supported.”

The amount of student fees varies in different music colleges. For example, at Riihimäki’s music college, the price of major subject tuition is at the same level of 270 euros as in Hyvinkää. On the other hand, the basic fee is already 425 euros at the West Helsinki Music College.

Very well the city government wants to fix the looming budget deficit without having to raise taxes, so it ordered a cut list from city officials. The funding shortfall is due, for example, to the reform of the welfare area, which has reduced the state shares received by the city.

An alternative to tax increases is cutting services, which is what the city government has decided on. After the cut list prepared by officials becomes public, it will be processed next in the city’s political decision-making. Decisions are expected at the city council meeting on November 11.

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Next, the proposed measures will go to the opinion round, and the citizens will also be asked for comments.

Before that, however, the proposed measures go to the opinion round, and the citizens are also asked for comments. The city announces Thursday, September 26 as their deadline.

Of course, Sanna Ratia, the rector of the music college, is hoping for comments to secure the music college’s funding.

“On Thursday, we organize an event called Eläköön Hymo. There will be music and speeches, i.e. an information session explaining what basic art education is.”

On the cutting list are also the craft and design school Taito Etelä-Suomi and the visual arts school owned by the city of Hyvinkää.

The state share system brings its own twist to the city’s planned cost savings.

Stopping the support of the music college would not affect the state contributions received by the city of Hyvinkää, as the support association of the music college receives state contributions based on teaching hours directly from OKM. A similar situation is the craft and design school Taito in Southern Finland.

On the other hand, the third school on the cut list that provides basic art education, the Children’s and Youth Visual Arts School, is owned by the city of Hyvinkää. Its operations are proposed to be reduced but not terminated, so through this the city would still receive the state share of the municipality’s basic services from the Ministry of Finance, but its teaching hour-based state share from OKM would decrease.

Hyvinkää also supports the dance school Dance Art and Tanssikeskus Elementi, the Riihimäki youth theater and the Rocktehdas Hyvinkää music school, all of which offer basic art education. They are not included in the cut list.