Schools are the only public buildings that are not air-conditioned. The facilities are old, oriented to the south to gain light and heat in the winter, and they need to be renovated before they can install efficient and sustainable systems, such as solar panels. Until now, it was believed that air conditioning was not urgent, since the buildings are empty in the summer. The point is that only a hundred centers, out of 3,500 in total, are built with thermal comfort criteria, according to the Department of Education. And another 300 have been reformed. Despite these needs, Catalan schools have been left out of the shower of millions of euros from specific European funds to renovate public buildings.
Spain has received, for the so-called Promotion Program for the Rehabilitation of Public Buildings (Pirep), one billion, of which Catalonia will manage around 184 million. Of the latter, around 9.9 million will go to school. Specifically, a nursery school, a primary school, a rural school, three high schools and a vocational training centre. The rest of the funds will finance libraries, sports centers, swimming pools, hostels, historical sites or will be used to renovate the Town Hall building.
Pirep aims to adapt the facilities (roofs, facades, enclosures, electricity) to reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy and install efficient and sustainable energy systems.
In August, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training announced 200 million euros to reform schools so that children are not the ones left behind in the climate emergency. But the Government decided to concentrate all of Pirep in a single ministry, that of Transport, Mobility and Agenda, which did not define any purpose for the funds. The ministry created two rehabilitation plans: that of the town councils, with a line of around 600 million, and that of the autonomous communities, with around 400 million.
From the plan for autonomy, the Government has 78.7 million euros, which it has distributed among the departments of Health, Culture, Social Rights, Universities, Justice, Interior, Climate Action and Education, which, with 6.5 million , will renovate the Alexandre Deulofeu high school, in Figueres (3 million); the Dertosa, in Tortosa (2.8 million), and the Antoni de Martí Franquès, in Tarragona (0.7 million).
Regarding the Pirep program for municipalities, of the 600 million available, one sixth has been awarded, in two different lines, to Catalan councils (105.5 million). Of the latter, 3.4 million goes to schools: Cunit, to rehabilitate Les Marietes kindergarten (217,000 euros); Montornès del Vallès, for the Sant Sadurní school (1 million), and Albagés, for the Mare de Déu de Montserrat rural school (452,000). In addition, Blanes is building a flagship VET center and has obtained 1.7 million to complete it.
Some councils consulted have justified the absence of school projects due to the complexity of the call and lack of time to prepare them (when they had other projects in the drawer) and due to the short deadlines for execution (some works must be completed by September 2024, and others in 2026).
Other municipalities have alleged that the structural reforms of the schools should not be financed by the City Council, despite the fact that it is the owner, but by the Generalitat, according to the Catalan education law. In any case, there are already municipalities, about 50, that have expressed the decision to carry out comprehensive works in primary schools at the expense of their own funds.
