Baden-Turgi
Merger vote: Many questions about the consequences for education and school routes – that’s how the mayors answer
In the transformer, mayor Markus Schneider and mayor Adrian Schoop informed about the planned merger of Baden and Turgi.
The area around the train station in Turgi has great development potential, according to the two mayors.
On March 13, the voters of Baden and Turgi have the choice. Do you want the two communities to merge – or do you want to continue to move forward independently? On Thursday evening, the two mayors presented the drafted merger agreement. “Turgi fell in love with Baden,” said Adrian Schoop, Turgi’s mayor. Now the wedding is coming up.
Although much has already been written and discussed, there still seemed to be a need for discussion. Around 200 people from Baden and Turgi attended the fourth and last information event before the election. As a result, the glass hall in the Trafo reached its capacity limit: several guests had to stand because the seats were already occupied.
The Turgem mayor Adrian Schoop.
Markus Schneider (Die Mitte) and Adrian Schoop (FDP) were careful to present unity. They took turns emphasizing the advantages of the planned merger. Turgi has enormous development potential, especially around the train station. Meanwhile, Baden is receiving urgently needed living space. In addition, the future largest city in Aargau would have significantly more weight at cantonal level, to name just a few of the arguments.
Education remains a sensitive issue
In the question and answer session that followed, the guests present focused on one topic in particular: the education system. Will all kindergartens and schools in Turgi be preserved? Will secondary school students have to change schools in the future? Mayor Schneider assured that everything will remain the same at the schools. In any case, the principle of “short legs, short distances” applies. There are no plans to reduce the educational opportunities in Turgi. The distances to school should be kept as short as possible.
There is currently a special situation at secondary level 1 in Turgi. Young people from the Untersiggenthal school district attend the district school in Turgi. This should also be the case after the merger.
Baden Mayor Markus Schneider.
The same applies to junior high and secondary school. Since there is no such facility in Turgi, the students in Turgem go to Gibenstorf or Untersiggenthal. Here, Baden takes over the existing contracts. In the medium term, however, it will be examined whether a location for secondary level 1 with all three types of services should also be realized in the Turgi district.
No second heap in Turgi
A 100 million project like the Burghalde school building is neither planned nor feasible in Turgi, Markus Schneider assured the guests present. The same applies to the Kappelerhof. When asked whether future students from the Kappelerhof would have to go to school in Turgi, Schneider said no. It may well be that there are shifts, but that will take a while and will not happen in the next few years.
The guests from Turgi were also concerned about what say they would still have after a merger. For the transitional period from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025, the electorate of the municipality of Turgi would elect eight additional members from Turgi to the residents’ council. The residents’ council would temporarily consist of 58 members. A supplementary election to the city council would be waived.
The Turgem parties have two years to establish themselves. Then come the general elections for the 2026-2029 term, where they can run for the 7 seats on the city council and the 50 seats on the residents’ council. Finally, the appeal followed: “Go to the ballot box on March 12.” Then it will be seen whether the wedding will take place. Both municipalities must agree to the merger.
