A year later, history repeats itself in La Orotava. A history in which the most affected are those who least deserve the current uncertainty before the closure of the Astrophysics Infant School Irene González, located in the Candelaria del Lomo, the only one of a municipal nature.
Fathers and mothers gathered yesterday in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento to denounce the situation and demand a solution from the City Council. “We do not understand that they have left us like this,” they complained.
The NGO Mensajeros de La Paz, which has been managing the center for three years, ends its contract with the City Council on November 8, but those responsible have transferred families who do not want to continue in the current economic conditions, since they do not it is profitable with only 26 seats.
Those affected found out in July. And it was done by those who were “lucky” to be called by the Social Services of the City Council to accept the quota after having been granted financial aid, a father ironically said. It was at that moment when they were informed that as of that date the nursery stopped working and they did not hesitate to transfer it to the rest.
“Messengers of Peace called us to a meeting to give us his version. From the City Council they told us that the NGO did not want to continue, but the director of the center told us that the exploitation of the school had not even been put out to tender, because they have been losing money for years due to the number of students, a reality that since Last year it was brought to the attention of municipal officials and to which they have turned a deaf ear ”, they maintained.
“In two months they close the only nursery school and they don’t give us a solution,” a mother lamented. Added to this is the complex current health situation, which prevents the little ones from being left in the care of a relative or someone they know while their parents work.
In the kindergartens where they ask for a place, they are advised to start in September, because in November the children’s course has already started, but those who have financial help from the City Council, have to “hold out” at Candelaria del Lomo until its doors close with the uncertainty of not knowing if from that moment they will accept their children in other centers or if they will be able to face the cost of a private one.
“We are not going to leave anyone lying down,” promises the mayor to relatives
The mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares, approached the families and invited two representatives to speak about the situation and the future of the nursery school.
He informed them that the government group expects to start the bidding process for the El Mayorazgo nursery school next week, closed last year, and will do the same with the Candelaria del Lomo school upon completion of the current contract.
“We have offered families to continue upstairs with peace of mind and that when the El Mayorazgo nursery opens there will be a transfer, since the amounts and scholarships are the same for both centers. In the worst case, one month lag, an alternative solution will be sought to keep these children under municipal control. We are not going to leave anyone lying down ”, he declared.
Parents prefer to be cautious and wait for the promise to become a reality “because there are many buts involved,” they argued.
