Burglesum: Parents are fighting for better school conditions for their children!

Burglesum: Parents are fighting for better school conditions for their children!

Parents in Lesum are worried: the Steinkamp school is in a catastrophic condition. Dilapidated wooden window fronts through which plants are already growing and rodents moving into the building are just the tip of the iceberg. “The auditorium cannot be used in winter, it is simply too cold,” reports Katja Otte, the school parent representative. The classrooms are also hardly usable because rusty pipes release water. The art rooms have been empty for two years because there was wastewater there. The situation is crying out for change, and has been since 2016.

The Burglesum parents' initiative is now calling for solutions for school location development. The pressing issue was discussed during a visit by State Education Councilor Torsten Klieme. It is tragic that many of these challenges can be traced back to a financial investment backlog, which is over 54.8 billion euros across Germany, as Architekturblatt reports. “Every municipality has its own burden to bear, and in our case this has already led to long discussions about the future of the schools,” Otte continues.

A look at the structural misery

The condition of schools in Germany is alarming. Crumbling plaster, leaky windows and unhygienic toilets are common. This presents educational institutions with major challenges: the increasing number of children and students, inclusion work and the right to all-day care are causing many schools to buckle. With an investment backlog that has grown enormously due to rising construction prices, many municipalities have little room for maneuver.

The situation is particularly precarious in Lesum. Students at the new elementary school sit in mobile buildings and a final location is still pending. High school students have to forego their playground because parts of the school offerings are blocked by interim elementary school locations. The concept of reverse inclusion cannot be implemented here, nor can the answers to open questions about merging the high school at a single location.

Hope for better solutions

But not everything is gloomy: there is light at the end of the tunnel. The State Council for Education has already commissioned planning to expand the mobile buildings for the primary school and financing has been secured. The parents hope that full-day operations can start after the autumn holidays. Klieme also favors a property next to the Paul Goldschmidt School for a new elementary school building. The prospect of transparency and quarterly discussions with parents gives hope for a timely solution.

Overall, the topic of an early renewal of the educational infrastructure is also being discussed nationwide. According to a PwC study, investments in educational institutions are becoming increasingly attractive. The high need for renovation and new construction suggests that private sector partners are being sought here who can help overcome this infrastructure crisis. The search for practical solutions is becoming more urgent than ever.

In Lesum there remains hope that parents' concerns will finally be heard and that the situation at schools will improve. A strong school system is important not only for the children, but also for the entire community.