Terrassa will receive 2,468,700 euros from the Fons Actualitza Escoles within the framework of the extraordinary investment agreement of 100 million euros promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the city councils to renovate nursery, primary, and special education centers. The resolution has opened a new political dispute in the city, despite the fact that the municipality appears to be the most benefited from the financial cooperation program.
The tension is in that difference between the political announcement and the official figure. Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya maintains that Terrassa will end up receiving less than the more than three million euros announced a few weeks ago and has also denounced that Sabadell will have a higher allocation although, according to the party, Terrassa has more centers susceptible to receiving the investment.
ERC denounces that Terrassa loses more than 500,000 euros compared to the initial announcement
The measure was announced in April and plans to distribute the funds among 723 municipalities based on the number of enrolled students and the age of the buildings. More than a thousand schools built or fully renovated before 2007 will be eligible for these grants.
In that distribution, Terrassa appears as the city with the highest allocation within the program, but ERC has focused on the difference between the figure announced in recent weeks and the one finally published. The party puts the definitive allocation at 2,468,700 euros for Terrassa's centers.
Republicans compare that amount with Sabadell's, which according to the resolution published in the DOGC will receive 3,092,300 euros. The party considers that there is a comparative grievance because Terrassa has, in their opinion, more educational centers that could opt for the investment.
ERC will register a question in the Parliament for the Generalitat to explain why the city will receive less money than initially announced. The criticism comes at a time of mobilizations by the educational community and demands for more resources for the public network.
The Generalitat defended a more agile management of reforms in April
The agreement mobilizes 100 million euros for renovation, adaptation, and improvement works in schools throughout the territory. The financing is channeled through an agreement between the Generalitat de Catalunya and the city councils.
Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, linked the program to the management capacity of the city councils.
"The measure is a gesture of trust towards local administrations to carry out reforms more agilely and efficiently" - Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat
Also Meritxell Budó, president of the Catalan Association of Municipalities, valued the allocation by the state of part of the school facilities. Her statement places the debate on the accumulated deterioration of many buildings that are included in the call.
"I appreciate the allocation to improve some equipment that has suffered years of lack of investment and that directly affects the quality of life of citizens" - Meritxell Budó, president of the Catalan Association of Municipalities
ERC, for its part, maintains that the difference between the initial announcement and the final resolution responds to a lack of leadership from the municipal government to defend the interests of Terrassa. The party has placed that criticism alongside the figure for Sabadell, set at 3,092,300 euros in the DOGC resolution.