Næstved Municipality’s new budget agreement leaves the Hyllinge branch of Vesterlandsskolen off the closure list, meaning the local school looks set to stay open for at least another year.
The agreement was reached on September 24, and DR reports that the school now appears likely to survive. Hyllinge is a branch of Vesterlandsskolen, located just outside Næstved. It had again been named in the municipality’s savings proposals ahead of the budget talks.
Parents of children at the school campaigned publicly to keep it open. Among them was Karina Wolan, who chairs the school board and has a son enrolled there. According to DR, she said she was relieved on behalf of the whole local community.
Wolan told DR that having a school in the immediate area means everything to families there. She also described the repeated budget uncertainty as a vacuum, in which parents do not know where they stand. Many questions arise along the way, she said.
Kasper Schneider of Liberal Alliance, who chairs Næstved’s children, schools and education committee, said he was also relieved. As reported by DR, he said the surrounding outlying district deserves a school nearby. He added that a closure would carry knock-on effects, including risks to the local sports hall and community center, and could leave the area depopulated.
Third time in six years
Per DR’s reporting, this is the third time in six years that the school has appeared in the municipality’s savings catalogue while Wolan’s son has been a pupil. Each round has left the school balancing between survival and closure in the municipal budget. One open question is whether it now survives only one more year.
Wolan said she strongly wants the school protected for several years at a time. According to DR, she argued that such a guarantee would make families dare to choose the school again. She did not indicate that any multi-year protection is part of the current agreement.
The budget agreement is not final. It must be approved at the Næstved City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 6. Until then, the omission of the closure from the agreement remains a political intention rather than a formal decision.
DR notes that many public schools across Denmark, particularly village schools, currently face uncertain futures as municipalities draw up their budgets. The broadcaster presented Hyllinge as a case where parents succeeded in getting local politicians to listen. The school’s fate for later years has not been settled.
