A peaceful start to the school year for Benoît Dejaiffe, the mayor of Bar-le-Duc, and Mathias Raulot, his first deputy in charge of education. Their first return to the head of the city. “A return to school with stable numbers,” notes the first. A little over 800 students were welcomed into the schools. Establishments which all benefited from routine maintenance work during the summer holidays: painting, tarmac in the courtyards, etc. Benoît Dejaiffe: “We also took the opportunity to make adjustments to improve the conditions of teachers. There is also the replacement of equipment in school restaurants. »
This return to school is also an opportunity to discuss current issues.
Heatwave plan: each class with an air conditioner
The municipality must present a heatwave plan to school directors on September 14. Then during school councils. “We developed it by learning lessons from the previous period,” explains Mathias Raulot.
Air conditioners have been ordered to equip each classroom. “It’s an investment of nearly €17,000. » Their delivery is expected next spring, they will be installed by the services. The deployment will be accompanied by a measurement protocol. One of them involves the application of Meudon white to windows to reflect the sun’s rays and lower the temperature in buildings.
In the event of a heatwave starting this September, the emergency arrangements designed last June will be renewed. “A lot of things had already been put in place. We had shifted the schedules of our staff, for their comfort, but also to allow them to open the schools very early in the morning to refresh the classes. We also have all the equipment that we had deployed and which is part of our plan: fans, vaporizers. We left them. There are sprinklers in the playgrounds. We had already given access to water jets in schools, but now we are going to invest in real spraying devices. »
In the longer term, it is planned to launch energy renovation work in schools and adaptation to global warming.
Meals for €1: “We don’t sacrifice quality”
This return to school is marked by the introduction of €1 meals in the canteen for children from families who are in brackets 1 and 2 of the family quotient, and a 10% reduction for all others. “This is the first time that we have announced price reductions,” insists Mathias Raulot. “It’s an effort without sacrificing the quality of the menus offered by the central kitchen. We are also not renouncing our commitments to organic products, or to circuits. »
Could this have an impact on the number of lunches served? “For the moment, the numbers remain stable” compared to last year. They will only be definitively known during a first assessment, mid-September. “We have counted the number of places in school restaurants, we are able to accommodate a few more children”, indicates the deputy.
Concerning the breakfast system, it does not resume at the start of the school year, the town hall is waiting to know if National Education intends to maintain it, and if so with what subsidies. “Last year, it didn’t start until the end of the calendar year. »
Extracurricular support to improve
All Barisian schools have an after-school reception which operates in the morning, during the lunch break and two hours after class every day. If the subject seems nationally sensitive, “we have not had any problems reported to us”, declares Mathias Raulot.
Benoît Dejaiffe is convinced of this: “We have room for improvement in the quality of after-school care…”
The organization of extracurricular activities is one of the challenges. The objective “is to improve support for children”, warns the mayor. “For this, there is a lot of work that has been undertaken and which will continue on the activities proposed as well as the training of our agents. Because we know that educational challenges are increasing in these times, and that we must have agents trained in the well-being of students, but who are also able to offer relevant activities. »
For Wednesdays, a leisure center still operates at the Jean-Errard school.
