The plenary meeting of the city council on Wednesday began with a stern warning from the mayor of Riga – not to insult anyone in the debates, or the microphone will be turned off. Not without reason: the atmosphere was tense.
Two positions immediately emerged – some deputies demanded to exclude the issue of kindergarten closures from the agenda; while Vice Mayor Vilnis Kirsis stated that the issue had been on the agenda for several years – and it cannot be swept under the rug!
“With one vote, you want to execute several kindergartens”
This was said by deputies to the leadership of the Duma. They find it strange that the proposed vote on the closure of preschool institutions is being done en masse – although each kindergarten has an individual situation. “Residents confirmed that they want to resolve the issues separately; signatures were also collected for each kindergarten,” noted opposition representative Arturs Klebahs.
Regarding the absence of the heads of the kindergartens at the Duma meeting, Mr. Kirsis explained that they are employees of the Department of Education, Youth and Sports, and do not interfere in politics.
The acting head of this structure, Ivars Balamovskis, explained that the “optimization” of preschool institutions is related to the network of Riga schools, which have also decreased in number. He named the demographic situation as the first factor. “Those educational institutions that were designed for many groups but now have only a few are operating with a negative economic sign.” Therefore, if in 2019, 6,131 infants were born in the capital, and in 2025 – 3,738, the number of kindergartens cannot remain the same. In several large districts of Riga, the number of children has even decreased by half.
How much does a child cost
The head of the department reported that some kindergartens are literally across the fence – so their administrative apparatuses need to be merged.
As for the elimination of specific programs that provide speech therapy education – the modern approach is “inclusive,” so that all children are “in one family”… By the way, 523.73 euros is spent per month on one such child, while the demand is low, pointed out I. Balamovskis.
Overall, the financial component has not yet been determined. “It could be 3 million, or maybe 5,” speculated the acting director.
Then representatives of the parents spoke. For example, from Imanta, where renovations were carried out, a full cycle of nutrition is provided. A mother from Vecmilgravis, talking about her kindergarten, where parents invested all their efforts – even shed a tear. Now children are offered to walk more than a kilometer – and the “new” building doesn’t even have parking.
In response to deputies' questions, the acting director, however, could not name either a specific figure for savings from the “optimization” – nor how much the municipality had invested in those kindergartens that are now proposed to be closed…
Your author tried to find out from Mr. Balamovskis the answer to a specific question: there was a speech therapy kindergarten Zilbīte, now it will be merged with the institution Dzintariņš. Will speech therapy training continue afterward? Our family’s personal experience is precisely with such professional speech development for a child… The official responded in the spirit of: if there is demand…
“Our duty is to offer work”
For his part, academic and deputy Ringolds Balodis noted that Mr. Balamovskis had been the head of the Education Department of the Riga Duma for about a decade and a half, and now is the “acting” director of the department, meaning his employment can be terminated at any moment.
– Here, it’s mainly “Russian” establishments, – noted R. Balodis. – You approach the issue very professionally. What will happen to the dismissed kindergarten staff? Mr. Balamovskis claimed that when entire groups transition to new institutions, the educators who previously worked with the children will be offered to continue working. However, they also have the right to resign, receive compensation, and enter the free labor market…
“Children will remain as they are,” assured the education leader. “What we need is unified administrative management.”
As an example, he cited the previously vacant schools named after Zoltoks and Poruks – now, thanks to quality management, they have come back to life…
After an 8-hour discussion, the final vote took place. The coalition received a majority of 10 votes in favor.
