The new year will come with bad news for the 65 children from a private nursery school in Valdezarza, north of Madrid, who will be left in limbo from next January 1. The center, with 40 years of history, will permanently close its doors after seeing a subsidy it received from the regional government, with which it financed a good part of its accounts, reduced. This is Can ta Chimutri, an intercultural space that started from the National Association of Gypsy Presence and that since 2014 incorporated the educational techniques of the Montessori method, an alternative learning model, into its teaching. The socio-educational and integrative purpose with which it was born earned it for years taking a significant sum of the funds that the Community of Madrid dedicates to this type of projects, and which represented more than half of its budget.
Now, parents of dozens of students between zero and six years old will have to make do with four months of the course. Many cannot take care of their children because they are so young and, therefore, dependent. “We had a horrible weekend, I even had a hard time sleeping. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, because in the public it’s almost impossible to find a place and there are few schools nearby,” laments Sara, mother of a little girl who is just over a year old and whom she enrolled in the center, in part, to free herself in hours of work. “Not all of us have grandparents or family help in Madrid, and the care of our children depends exclusively on the resources we have available.” Given what he has seen, the worst fear is hovering in his head: “Maybe I will have no choice but to ask for a leave of absence.”
But what happened for a center with almost half a century of history to have an imminent closure, in the middle of the course and with families discovering their financial problems when the decision had already been made? According to Sara, who spoke with Somos Madrid in the first week of December – days after hearing the news –, the reason could be due to “poor management on the part of the school management.” Last Wednesday, December 4, they had a meeting with those responsible for the school. The meeting was called to explain what had happened, and how long this problem had existed.
As she explains, there they were told that the land on which the school stands belongs to private owners, who charge a “high rent” to the proccomotor association, as reproduced by this mother. Over time, the amount of money they received from the Community of Madrid was reduced due to the arrival of other requests for projects of a social or integrative nature. Although the fees that families pay to enroll their children are high, this has not prevented them from being left out in the open mid-course. In general, families whose salaries are greater than 40,000 euros gross per year pay a fee of €386 for users from zero to three years old.
Different fees depending on the payroll
The peculiarity is that, if a family does not reach this figure, they can show their payslips to reduce the corresponding fee, always depending on the urgency or need of each case. Added to this are the 120 euros per month that allow access to the dining room service, which is optional; while to pay for materials another eight euros will have to be contributed each month. From three to six years old, the total fee is 445 euros. This amount already includes dining room and materials, with the option to pay an extra 173 euros to have a vegan menu. However, the school informs on its website that it offers scholarships for the amount of school registration to students who demonstrate that they are at risk of social exclusion.
In the case of Sara, she and her partner pay about 500 euros each month for their daughter’s stay, which is now interrupted. He says that some relatives have asked to know how much money the school would need to be able to reach at least the month of July and finish the course. “I think many of us would be willing to raise it, because the other option is much less advisable,” she reflects. Although he admits that he has already lost all kinds of hope, the last bullet will be the meeting that this Thursday, December 12, will bring together the school management with those responsible for the Department of Family, Youth and Social Affairs, which manages the grant. Until now, specific meetings were held between the board and the land owners’ lawyer to lower the rent; their lack of success led them to a last attempt.
When the closure of the center and the dismissal of the staff have already been announced, they will try to renegotiate with the Community the subsidy they receive from them. For practical purposes, the aid was received directly by the association that manages the school and which also has other projects underway. It is for their entire activity that they received public benefits, so any other large or small entity could request the same means of payment. In a recent letter that the leaders of the nursery school sent to the educational community, and that the families of their students received, the school asked for “letters of support” written by these parents to display during Thursday’s meeting. And, hopefully, convince the administration.
A last attempt, but without guarantees
The next time they will meet with those responsible for Can ta Chimutri will be on Monday of next week, after the meeting with Education and after a weekend of margin to communicate the final conclusions. They have met at five in the afternoon at the center itself, where its closure will be confirmed if everything continues as before. In the letter they sent to the families at the time, they spoke of “other parallel actions” to seek new patronage, but they did not come to fruition. This newspaper has tried to contact the management of the children’s school to find out about them, but has not received a response as of the date of publication. The Family Department, however, has responded that the closure of the entity is a decision made by its own managers, the Gypsy Presence Association, and not one derived from the withdrawal of the subsidy.
In addition, they specify that the organization presented a project to receive aid from the personal income tax that finances this department, but that it competes with the more than 1,000 proposals that have been registered this last year. Many, they believe, are more adjusted to the registration criteria. Regarding Thursday’s meeting, the Community of Madrid details that they will inform them about “other possibilities to obtain funds”, but they do not suggest or hint that they are going to retract and give them the aid that was withdrawn from them.
Even so, the explanation offered to the educational community from the school management calls the situation “unforeseen and unexpected,” a “force majeure cause” upon receiving the news that the regional subsidy would not arrive again. “We cannot continue to face the expense of keeping the school open,” they stated, while ensuring that their idea was not to sit “idly,” pointing to the upcoming meeting with the Community of Madrid. Specifically, as they explained, with the General Directorate of Childhood, Family and Birth Promotion and with the General Director of Concerted Education, Scholarships and Study Aid. To know what chances of success they have, we will have to wait at least a few days. However, there are those who, like Sara, “have stopped waiting” for a solution to be brought to them.
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