San Genesio, children and parents in the square: «We want our school back as soon as possible»

SAINT GENESIO. Dozens of drawings, made by children at home or there, on site under the gazebo. Only one request: get the school back. Yesterday afternoon parents and pupils of the primary and secondary school of San Genesio gathered in the square to ask for certain times on the reopening of the school complex, which has been seized since December for an investigation by the judiciary as part of the Clean investigation after doubts had emerged on school safety.

The garrison

The protest was organized by the parents’ association of the comprehensive school in Via Acerbi precisely to ask for a quick solution to a situation that has been dragging on for almost four months now. «Our children are going to school in Pavia, from an educational point of view there are no problems, but it’s not the same» says Laura, one of the mothers present at the sit in. Which, the organizers point out, is not a protest. «We simply want to underline the discomfort of our children due to the situation that has arisen _ explains Flavio Ravenna, president of the association _. Last week a new appraisal was requested, and this is a cause for concern for us because it could mean a further delay in the reopening of classrooms.”

The appraisal ordered by the Pavia prosecutor’s office revealed irregularities in the execution of the works, especially in relation to the obligations set out in the contract, such as the absence of testing, but other assessments are necessary for the magistrates on the safety of the building. The same consultants had requested invasive investigations, such as core sampling to verify the materials used for the seismic adaptation works of the building, in particular for the pillars. «The times of justice cannot coincide with those of teaching _ Ravenna continues to insist _. A school is not a library, with all due respect for books of course. Here we are talking about over two hundred children waiting to be able to return to their classrooms.” And there is no certain date.

Uncertainty about reopening

Indeed, “there is no date”. The concern that the situation will remain unchanged for the new school year is strong, very strong among parents. «We ask to be able to have a dialogue with the institutions – continues the president of the association – so that they at least keep us informed. Starting from the prosecutor’s office. We understand the sensitivity of their work, the confidentiality of the investigations, and everything else. But families and children have the right to know when they can return to school.”

The leitmotif of the drawings is only one: “We want our school back”. Colorful figures, representations of children returning to their classrooms. A dream, for the moment. «Although the Acerbi Comprehensive Institute and the Municipality of San Genesio have done everything possible to manage this emergency situation (the host schools and bus transport were organized in record time), there remain objective and unsolvable difficulties that will continue to weigh on on children, families and school collaborators until the service is restored to its original state – parents say in an official note -. As an association we hope that the judiciary can verify the conditions of the San Genesio schools as soon as possible and that any interventions necessary to guarantee the resumption of lessons in complete safety can therefore be carried out with the highest priority. Our initiative aims to do this. And children’s drawings serve today to give precisely this message.”