2,258 people voted to keep the 10th to 12th grade stage of the 2nd secondary school

Although Jēkabpils county council members and management representatives Alfons Žuks and Ainars Vasilis Jēkabpils 2nd secondary school, in a meeting with student pedagogues and representatives of parents, expressed the opinion that the school should close the secondary education stage and it will be a primary school and they are planning to decide on it already on April 25 at the council meeting, such a decision was not included in the agenda of the meeting.

After the meeting at the school, the parents started collecting signatures on maintaining the status of the secondary school and the procedure for the reorganization of Jēkabpils district schools. On April 25, the parents’ council informed the Jēkabpils county council and the media about the results of the survey.

In a submission to the municipality, the parents state that the closure of the secondary school stage by the municipality is based on emotional claims that otherwise Jēkabpils State Gymnasium and Jēkabpils 3rd secondary school will cease to exist. In the opinion of the parents, the statement is illogical, because the schools that are located in the most densely populated area of ​​Jēkabpils region are judged, while the other schools of Jēkabpils region are not judged. In addition, an attempt has been made to contrast the largest Jēkabpils schools, each of which has its own direction of development according to the approved school concept. The parents also conclude that what the council representatives said shows that they do not have a vision for the development of schools or that the residents are not informed about it. Since during the meeting the representatives of the city council occasionally contradicted each other, the parents’ council decided to organize a poll – a collection of signatures in order to express an opinion on the preservation of the 10th to 12th grades of Jēkabpils 2nd Secondary School and the procedure for the reorganization of Jēkabpils county schools, and also delegated a representative to April 25, 2024 county council meeting to make sure that the issue of the reorganization of Jēkabpils 2nd secondary school is not included in the council meeting. Parents believe that the issue of school reform should be explored and discussed with industry representatives and the public.

The survey took place from April 21 to 24. 2,331 people gave their opinion. Processing the data set selected 2,258 records (96.87%) as identifiable and unique. Duplicate and non-identifiable data were removed – name and surname were not specified. Opinions were expressed on two issues. The first was whether the 10th to 12th grades of Jēkabpils 2nd Secondary School should be preserved, the second was that a school reorganization plan should be developed, it should be discussed with the community and only then should the reorganization be carried out. 2,258 people (100%) believe that the secondary school stage should be preserved. 2,120 people (93%) believe that the municipality should develop a reorganization plan for the school network of Jēkabpils district, submit it for public consultation and only after collecting and analyzing the opinions, reform the schools. 138 people (7%) have no opinion on this issue.

After the council meeting on April 25, a discussion about school reform began among the deputies. The opposition MPs said that someone gave an order to prepare a draft decision on the liquidation of the 10th to 12th grades of the 2nd secondary school for April 25, but it was not discussed with the opposition. Deputy Aivars Kraps asked whether A. Vasilis and A. Žuks went to the 2nd secondary school as officials assigned by the chairman or privately, if they expressed the opinion that the decision would be made at the April 25 council meeting? A. Kraps was indignant that the representatives of the council in the 2nd secondary school told the teachers and parents that all the deputies support the decision on the liquidation of the secondary school stage. It should be added here that A. Vasilis repeatedly emphasized at the meeting of the 2nd secondary school that he expresses his personal opinion and cannot guarantee that 19 deputies will vote for it. A. Vasilis replied that no one should have been assigned to the school, because it was not a meeting initiated by the municipality. There was a meeting of the pedagogical council, then a meeting of parents of 9th graders was planned, but there was no information that it would be such a big event with the participation of the media. And then it was also explained that if the decision is not taken now – in April, it should be postponed until next year. To the question, whether or not the council’s decision had been prepared, the answer was that it had been prepared. A. Žuks replied to A. Krapa that there was no reason to worry, because the decision was not included in the agenda of the council meeting. Is it not possible to prepare decisions, but then not put them to a vote at the council meeting? After the meeting, they realized that it cannot be included in the meeting agenda yet. The opposition again accused the coalition of dealing with these issues within its own circle without informing the opposition. The opposition proposed to first discuss the changes in the school network with all MPs.

– I say again, I do not and will not go to the so-called production meetings because everything has been decided. Colleagues, let’s be honest with each other! The coalition had already decided this. If there was no agitation by the parents and teachers of the 2nd secondary school with a vote, this decision would be on the agenda today, this decision would most likely be adopted today, – said Aivars Kraps.

Jēkabpils County Council Chairman Raivis Ragainis agreed that changes in the school network should be discussed with all deputies. At the press conference, he told local media representatives that the decision to close the secondary education stage at Jēkabpils 2nd High School is currently postponed, which means that students will be admitted to the 10th grade at Jēkabpils 2nd High School this year. R. Ragainis said that he also believes that Jēkabpils 2nd Secondary School should become a strong primary school. The school already has the maximum number of students and many primary school classes, and it is difficult to organize sports lessons because the gym is small. He mentioned that on September 1, 2025, the 10th grade in the 2nd secondary school will probably no longer be accepted, but he cannot say that for sure. The decision will depend on the school funding criteria approved in June, as well as on the decision of all the deputies. In any situation, we will have to talk about changes in the school network, including in Jēkabpils, because they are necessary. R. Ragainis said that he could not now name a specific time when a decision could be made about the future of the 2nd secondary school, pending the approval of the teachers’ salary model.