Jojo's school is in the hot seat.
Jojo is this schoolboy who brought tears of emotion to 2 million spectators in 2002 in the documentary “Being and Having”, a film which followed the daily life of a single class teacher, Mr. Lopez, in Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson (Puy-de-Dôme), between Ambert and Issoire.
Now retired, the one who taught from kindergarten to CM2 is one of the signatories of a petition in support of the rural establishment.
It's been nine years since he no longer worked in a single class, but with two teachers.
However, in its school map project for the next school year, the academic management plans to close a class.
Reason: the school will lose a student, going from 18 to 17 enrolled.
“For just one child less, we apply a mathematical scale which endangers our school and therefore our town, which devotes 30% of its budget to it,” says Lionel Chanimbaud, mayor of the town of 280 people.
This Tuesday, February 13, the elected official and the representatives of the parents of students were able to meet the services of the rectorate in Clermont-Ferrand.
“We gave them four new registrations, or 21 students at the start of the September school year.
We hope it will work,” says Lionel Chanimbaud.
In this village on the borders of Haute-Loire, the demographics “are not at all losing momentum, contrary to what we are told.
Covid-19 brought couples who wanted to leave the city, Issoire or Clermont to find a place that was still preserved,” argues the elected official, who has seen nine new houses built over the past three years.
“But we must give these young parents time to have children, and INSEE to register these arrivals,” he smiles.
The National Education services must return their copy this Thursday.