Sagunto to invest over €500,000 in upgrades to eight public schools
Sagunto City Council is already carrying out €120,000 worth of works at four schools and plans four more projects, reaching a total investment of over €500,000 this year.
Eight public schools in Sagunto are having their playgrounds and classrooms renovated this summer, with a municipal investment that will exceed €500,000 once the whole plan is finished. Four of the schools already have work under way, worth just over €120,000, while the other four projects will start in the coming weeks. The city's Education Department is coordinating the works, which focus on three areas: turning paved playgrounds into greener spaces, fixing water build-up problems after rain, and updating basic facilities such as fences, kitchens and classrooms.
Among the schools where work has already begun is CEIP Nuestra Señora de Begoña — the initials stand for Colegio de Educación Infantil y Primaria, the standard name for a Spanish public primary school — where almost €34,000 is being spent to transform the playground. Part of the paved surface is being replaced with green areas to lower temperatures during the hottest months, accessibility barriers are being removed, and the space is being adapted to meet the requirements of PIIE (Proyectos de Innovación e Inclusión Educativa, or Educational Innovation and Inclusion Projects), a regional programme for pupils with additional needs. A different problem is behind the work at CEIP Montíber, where €8,200 is being invested to redo the drainage of the children's playground so the puddles that form every time it rains heavily stop happening.
The largest single amount, just over €36,500, goes to CEIP Cronista Chabret, where the fountain will be replaced, part of the playground surface redone, the perimeter fence moved and the computer classroom renovated. The school honours the memory of Antonio Chabret y Fraga, a Sagunto-born doctor and historian who served as the city's official chronicler and published the 1888 reference work "Historia de Sagunto", still cited today on the city's past. With a similar budget to Begoña — more than €40,000 — CEIP Maestro Tarrazona is having its classrooms, dining hall and kitchen repainted.
The second phase of works, starting in the coming weeks, will push the total investment above €500,000. It includes accessibility improvements to the playgrounds at CEIP María Yocasta and CEIP Cervantes, a ramp connecting the covered area to the playground at CEIP Victoria y Joaquín Rodrigo, and an upgrade to the kitchen and dining hall at CEIP Ausiàs March. The second-to-last of these schools is named after composer Joaquín Rodrigo, born in Sagunto in 1901, and his wife Victoria Kamhi, a pianist who worked alongside him as his closest collaborator in composing his music. Beyond these eight main projects, the city also plans smaller maintenance work spread across the rest of its schools.
Asked about the criteria for choosing which works to prioritise, Education councillor Raúl Palmero explained that the priorities come from the schools' own management teams and from families, who know first-hand what is wrong with each building. He added that the council sometimes takes on improvements — such as accessibility work — that are not strictly its responsibility, but which it considers necessary for children's safety. On timing, Palmero said concentrating the works in July and August avoids disrupting lessons, though this summer's extreme heat forced changes to shifts and work pace, in order to protect the health of the construction staff.
These works add to an investment that already exceeds €2 million over three years, spread across more than 90 projects in Sagunto's public schools. During that period the roof and playground of CEIP María Yocasta were waterproofed and renovated, the windows of CEIP Cronista Chabret were replaced to cut its energy use, and CEE Albanta was resurfaced to make it more accessible and safe. For families with children at any of the eight schools mentioned, the practical outcome is that the school year will start with renovated playgrounds or works at an advanced stage, without the schedule putting the start of classes at risk. According to information from Sagunto City Council and elperiodic.com, with additional background from Wikipedia on the historical figures the two schools are named after.