Debate, School | Project Nesoddtangen primary school is at risk of financial disaster!

A new school and multi-purpose hall is an opportunity for the whole local community which is primarily an enrichment. At the same time, there are several reasons for reconsidering the process, both economic and educational reasons.

As I understand the administration, they are planning to announce an interaction contract with a contractor. This means that you ask for the lowest possible price based on the sketch project and agree to cooperate on any changes. The risk of basing the tender on an outline project is to potentially take a serious financial hit, as well as to lay the foundation for ill-thought-out solutions that may come at the expense of the qualities we want for both the children and the local community in general.

Let me outline some examples of what has probably not yet been resolved or decided upon: Is the ventilation room sufficiently dimensioned? And on a general basis, technical rooms appear to be too small or absent. Does the music room have sufficient height and has structural sound been considered? All of this will entail changes that will in turn affect the budget and room solutions for the entire building.

The layout in the sketch project continues a school pedagogy from the 60s, although there is now the opportunity to rebuild into more modern and flexible teaching areas.

When you look at Finland, for example, schools use hallways for different teaching zones and the steps or individual classes are offered opportunities to gather in group rooms and learning zones of different sizes. What is drawn in the sketch project has the consequence that you cannot divide a class into several groups without disrupting another class’s teaching. No corridors are designed for learning. Is it a conscious and well-thought-out choice?

Was it checked for asbestos in the construction? Can the school be completely rehabilitated?

In the municipal council’s meeting in March, it was discussed where the children should be while the building works take place, and at the same time the property manager in the municipality stated that there is a certain possibility that there may be asbestos in the school building – which will affect whether the school and community center are renovated or perhaps built completely new (as Amta wrote on 16 March) In a situation where we don’t even know whether it will be a rehabilitation or a new build, and where the knowledge base is, after all, quite thin, you should get your feet on the ground.

So my request to the municipal council is: Look at the whole process around Nesoddtangen primary school again! In the long run, you will profit from it.