It’s a rumour, but and it has already spread among the parents of students in the Jean Macé school group in Guéret. School might be closed next school year. In question, the constant decline in the number of students in the city. Each year, schools in Guérande see their numbers shrink: about sixty fewer students on average and about 250 since 2018. If Guéret has been relatively spared from class closures, the Jean Macé school group could pay a high price this time.
It is still only one hypothesisbut she is seriously considered since it was discussed this Tuesday during a academic inspection technical committee. If the Jean Macé school is targeted, it is because this is the smallest school in town. The idea would therefore be to close the entire school group, rather than condemning a class in several different schools.
Questions about the future of students and staff
A hypothesis which therefore worries the parents of Guéret students. “It’s a shame for the children. They are used to school, they have their classmates and their teachers. It is still difficult. After that raises questions about the numbers, we don’t know how many there will be in the classes, and how it will happen“, wonders Charlène, whose daughter is in CP. Christelle, representative of the parents of pupils, warns that in the event of closure, the parents will react: “We are going to do everything we can to bring together as many parents as possible, to be able to make a small movement, do something to make our voices heard.“
The questions abound, in particular on the possible reception of students in the other schools of Guéret, but also on what will happen to the teachers, in the event of the closure of the Jean Macé school group. There are a total of three school groups (kindergarten and primary classes) in the city: Jacques Prévert, Jean Macé and Paul Langevin. To this must be added the Alfred Assolan kindergarten and the Cerclier primary school.
UNSA calls for a moratorium
This is what worries the departmental secretary of the SNIUPP union in the Creuse. Luc Marquès believes that such a decision for the start of the school year in September 2023 is not not anticipated enough. “It seems a bit rushed to me, because between the moment when it’s mentioned in November and the moment when it’s decided in January, it’s extremely short deadlines, with all the consequences that there may be behind. How are staff reassigned afterwards? Will there be job closures that will accompany this school group closure? What sectorization for the students? These are still major upheavals. A closure on an entire school group is not a class closure. A little over 100 students to 130 students if we take kindergarten included. And that inevitably has an impact on all the schools in Guéret.“
For its part, theUNSAanother teachers’ union, is asking for a moratorium from this Tuesday on the next school map in order to give teams, municipalities and parents time to discuss the issue of rural schools.
To talk about the possible closure of the Jean Macé school group, the mayor of Guéret, Marie-Françoise Fournier will be the guest of France Bleu Creuse this Wednesday from 8:10 a.m.