The prefabricated modules, or barracks, of the IES de Guaza will have a new life starting today despite the fact that, in principle, they had fallen into disuse after the opening of the IES Parque La Reina, at the beginning of this academic year.
A total of 302 students from CEIP Los Abrigos will use them in the coming months, according to sources from the Department of Education of the Government of the Canary Islands, who recalled that the intention is for them to be able to return to the town of Granadilla de Abona before end of the school period. Initially, in about three or four months, depending on the calendar set.
Mothers, fathers and teaching staff, as well as the mayor of Granadilla herself, Jennifer Miranda, and the Councilor for Education, Ángela Villalba, were present yesterday on a tour of the facilities together with the deputy councilor José Manuel Cabrera.
The transfer of the students from Los Abrigos to Guaza, in Arona, was a measure adopted after deficiencies were detected in the basement of one of the buildings of the first of the centers, in the so-called sanitary chamber. This has forced urgent works to be undertaken, although the stability of the property is not in danger.
In recent weeks, the Guaza facilities have been subjected to a shock cleaning, the painting of the different spaces, the waterproofing of the roof, the sanitation of the plumbing and the adaptation of the dining room, among other works, as reported in a statement from the department headed by counselor Poli Suárez.
One of the planned actions will be the launch of a transportation service, through which Education will be responsible for transporting the CEIP Los Abrigos students to this aronero nucleus on a daily basis, all of this until they can return to the original center, something that, in At first, the Government believes that it will not go beyond those three or four months.
Arona hopes to pay the land owners before the end of the year
A large debt hangs over the soil of the IES de Guaza, exceeding 1.4 million euros. This amount is what appears in a ruling that declared void the urban planning agreement that allows the barracks to remain in the place they are, since the land does not belong to the Arona City Council or the Ministry of Education, but rather to a private individual. . The agreement dates back to 2002 and allowed the installation of prefabricated modules in exchange for an urban reclassification in the General Plan, a plan that was annulled by Justice.
Therefore, said reclassification was not carried out and the municipal corporation had to compensate the owners with a figure that in the ruling is 1.4 million in rent, but which could be even more substantial.
Sources from the Ministry of Education yesterday claimed to be aware of this situation, although they consider that it is a dispute between the municipality and the owners of the land, which will not affect the start of classes today by the students of the CEIP Los Abrigos in Guaza. .
For its part, the Arona City Council explained that the payment of the corresponding amount to the owners has already been ordered, so they hope that the differences with them will be settled before the end of the year and that, therefore, they will not there will be problems in the coming months.