Dozens of schools with mildew problems could be left without grants for repairs

Ministry estimates undersized

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Apparently the funds allocated to school renovations by the government are not sufficient to start renovation work in all school buildings needing repair, and dozens of schools are likely to be left without subsidies.
      The news about the government’s renovation subsidy to schools that are suffering from dampness and mildew problems had encouraged municipalities to make more repair plans than had been expected.
      The large number of such plans came as a surprise to the Ministry of Education, as it had initially undersized the amount of funds that would be required.
     
On Tuesday, the Government agreed on a stimulus package that is to grant a renovation subsidy of EUR 30.5 million for basic refurbishment of schools with mildew problems.
      Parliament is to start handling the matter next week.
      In the budget made in the autumn of 2008, the schools with mildew problems were granted a total of EUR 71 million.
      ”Our appropriation in 2009 will total EUR 101.5, which is more than double the normal size”, reports Minister of Education Henna Virkkunen (National Coalition Party).
     
However, the funds are still not sufficient to cover all planned refurbishments of schools.
      Chief Engineer Erkki Salmio from the Ministry of Education reports that the amount of subsidies applied for by municipalities for the renovations of around 100 school buildings was slightly over EUR 170 million. This means that approximately EUR 70 million is still missing.
      ”Some 30 to 40 applications on average will be left without subsidies”, Salmio calculates.
     
Funds from the stimulus package were not even sought for all projects. Initially the Ministry of Education wished to allocate EUR 35 million to schools. Later on the sum was increased to EUR 60 million.
      The original proposal was based on the information gathered from State Provincial Offices and municipalities relating to the number of possible school refurbishment projects. The municipalities themselves are to pay at least half of the renovation costs.
      ”When the news about renovation subsidies spread, the number of applications tripled compared with the figure we had come up with”, Salmio notes.
      According to Minister Virkkunen, some projects have already been launched, which is why they are not entitled to the proposed subsidies.
     
Next, the State Provincial Offices are to arrange the planned school projects in order of importance, whereupon they are to decide for which projects subsidies should be granted.
      According to Virkkunen, the projects are also to be considered in terms of regional stimuli.
      According to the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE) and to some research conducted by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES), it is possible that one in three comprehensive schools could suffer from dampness, while one in five could have mildew problems.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki repairing schools with mildew problems (6.8.2008)

Links:
  Finnish Government press release 3.2.2009: Overall impact of Government stimulus package to total EUR 2 billion
  Mildew (Wikipedia)
  National Board of Education
  National Institute for Health and Welfare

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