Parent Michaela: I see how the teachers are struggling

It was the renovation of areas in central Skövde, investments of 77 million in 2019, that caused the goblet to run over for Michaela Almhav. Up close, she had seen and heard how both students and staff in the school felt worse because of savings and time pressure.

- Daily I get to hear from teachers how bad it is. And I see how bad it is for those who are educators at my children's school, even if they have not expressed it, I see how they are struggling, says Michaela Almhav.

Her wish is for the municipality to prioritize education on upgrades such as the one at Hertig Johans Torg.

In the budget for the year, the Board of Children and Education goes with a deficit of 20 million. This has resulted, among other things, in the fact that schools have been subject to purchasing restrictions. According to Michaela Almhav, this has led to schoolchildren having to bring pens and wipes from home.

- At the same time, the municipality has chosen to spend money on a tulip park, she says, referring to the fact that the street and park unit purchased tulip bulbs for SEK 250,000 during the year.

- The municipality has chosen aesthetics over ethics and morals.

Katarina Jonsson (M), chair of the Skövde municipal council, says that it is not possible to use the money in the way the parents demand. Money used for example in the construction of a square comes from the municipality's investment budget. It consists to some extent of surpluses from the previous year's budget, but the big pot is money you borrow from a bank.

- An investment is one-off, you cannot translate it and put it in the operating budget. You cannot borrow for operation. This is economic unhealthiness, says Katarina Jonsson (M)

But when comparing school materials to tulip bulbs, it is about the "same type" of money, Katarina Jonsson (M) - confirms funds from the operating budget. This is where tax revenue ends up.

- 8 out of 10 tax crowns are spent today on care and school. The rest goes to everything else. If a municipality just put resources into care, school and care, it would not be so pleasant to live in that city, she says.

Katarina Jonsson (M) emphasizes that there is no stop to buy and that they do not violate the obligation they have to provide the children with school supplies.

Michaela Almhav believes that the aesthetic should under no circumstances be allowed to go before a good school environment.

- I think there is every opportunity in the world to think about and do right, she says.

This weekend, the Skolmarschen is being held in several parts of the country to mark the savings within the school. Michaela Almhav hopes that their relatively newly created group will be able to gather power until then, otherwise they intend to take a bigger action later on.

The municipal council's chairperson Katarina Jonsson (M) hopes to have a meeting with representatives of the group in the near future.