Tlučná near Plzeň has a new primary school for 58 million

Tlučná (Plzeň Region) - Tlučná in the northern Plzeň region has a new primary school today costing 58 million crowns, of which 85 percent was funded by the EU. The previous building, dating from 1890, was situated on subsided land after coal mining, and there was a risk it would collapse. Thanks to the drop in construction contract prices during the crisis, the town hall saved money; the original budget was 73 million. However, according to EU regulations, it could not use the remaining subsidy funds for the new building for the first stage and will therefore seek additional support. This was stated by the mayor of the municipality, Stanislav Volf. According to the regional councilor for education, Jiří Struček (ČSSD), this is the only new primary school building this year in the Plzeň region.
     "The three-story building will accommodate the current 200 students, but we have a reserve for at least another 100 children," the mayor added. According to him, the municipality, which has 3060 inhabitants and is a satellite of Plzeň, has grown by a thousand people over the last 13 years, and apartments are being built in other zones. An additional 400 to 500 people are not officially registered in Tlučná but reside there.
     The construction took 14 months. "In the new building, both stages will coexist until we can realize the section for the first stage. We have 15 million CZK left from the subsidy, but we could not convince the responsible authorities to allow us to build it," said Volf. The municipality originally wanted 120 million CZK for the entire school. The municipality feared that it would not have funds for the mandatory contribution to the grant and therefore decided to apply for support only for the second stage. However, during the crisis, the total construction price dropped nearly in half, so the municipality would have built the whole school with the obtained grant. Tlučná is already negotiating further financing options for the first stage with the region, the Ministry of Education, and has also turned to the Ministry of Industry, as there had been extensive mining activity in the area. Struček promised that the region would help. The new building for the first stage would also resolve the critical shortage of places in the kindergarten, which currently has 100 children.
     "The new building features 12 classrooms, including specialized ones. Since the original project was not implemented, they have become classrooms for regular activities," said school director Karel Rada. Together with the mayor, he noted that they had been promised a new school as first-graders back in 1961. "Since 1998, we have been actively trying for it, as the condition of the building had become critical from both a hygiene and structural perspective," said Volf. The building was cracked due to coal transportation from a local mine. It was further disrupted by floods in 2002.
The new building followed the renovation of the kindergarten and school cafeteria. A complex was created with a primary school and kindergarten, cafeteria, after-school care, playground, sports hall, and parking, all on 15,300 square meters.
     "The number of children is dramatically increasing, a lot is being built, there are very good facilities, and the entire network of shops and services," Volf noted. Currently, there are 640 children under 15 living in Tlučná. The original building is intended for regional use.
     In the Plzeň region, there are nearly 220 primary schools attended by about 42,000 students. This September, 5,966 children enrolled in the first grades of primary schools in the region. The actual number of students will be clear only at the end of September. "Many parents opted for deferring attendance, and it is estimated that there are 200 to 300 fewer first-graders," said the region's spokeswoman, Petra Jarošová. Last September, there were 4,500 first-graders in the region.
     There are 45 secondary schools established by the region, including 12 gymnasiums. This year, 4,429 students are entering the first grade. There are a total of 25,283 high school students in the region.