Tense atmosphere at the end of classes at Frédéric Mistral this Tuesday afternoon. The school gates have been covered with protest signs, petitions are circulating… The parents of the schoolchildren learned it only a few hours ago: their children’s primary school will close. And very soon, since it should be effective at the end of the school year.
“Faced with the fait accompli”
photo">Some parents entrust the distress of their children to the announcement of the closure of their school.Photo Valerie Le Parc.
“I found out this Monday, regrets Eva, mother of two students. It’s very sudden, we are faced with a fait accompli. There was no consultation.” His children should therefore be transferred, like their little comrades, to Lazare Carnot a few meters away. “This school already has nearly 200 students. If we add the 100 from Mistral, it’s simple the children will be parked”she gets carried away.
“Here, it’s a big family, there are only five classes. The team is great, the children feel good there. And next year, they will learn under what conditions? They will be put in prefabs!”adds Cindy whose daughter, in CM1, came home in tears the day before when she heard the news.
Meeting with the municipality
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The meeting between the parents and the elected officials was stormy.Photo Valerie Le Parc.
To defuse the parents’ anger and explain the project, the first assistant in charge of education, Josée Massi, accompanied by Erik Mascaro (buildings delegate) went on site.
An impromptu meeting was organized in the refectory of the Mistral school. “You talk about a hasty decision, it is not. We have been thinking about this project for 10 years. It is necessary for the Casanova nursery school that we are going to transfer here. At the same time, we are planning work at Lazare-Carnot The modular units where your children will be put will only be temporary. Our priority is the well-being of the little Toulonnais.”she explains.
“What well-being for children?”
An intervention that quickly provoked the ire of parents. “Explain to us how your project will be better for the children of Mistral and Carnot? The canteen will be overloaded, the playground too!”storm a mom. “You know very well that the bigger the schools, the worse the learning conditions are”continues another.
The dialogue seems to be at an impasse. But the parents of students affirm it, they will not let go of anything to make their voices heard. A rally is already planned for this Friday morning at 8:15 a.m. They then plan to take their petitions to the Academic Inspectorate.
Toulon city map
« For ten years, we have been thinking about transferring the Casanova kindergarten, details Josée Massi, first deputy mayor, in charge of education. We have found the solution. At the start of the 2023 school year, we are transferring the students from Mistral to Lazare-Carnot. We are undertaking work at Mistral, which will be able to accommodate Casanova students in 2024. » The City plans to install modular structures, as is already the case in other schools. ” But they will not stay there, reassures the chosen one. We are planning work to expand Lazare Carnot in 2025.”
Once the work has been carried out in the premises of Frédéric-Mistral to welcome the Casanova students (in September 2024), the latter should become, in the words of the first assistant, a ” model school, with regard to noise, vegetation, thermal insulation…”.
As for the current kindergarten premises, the City assures us: ” we will not build anything. Maybe we will make a green space or a parking lot. »
