Kim believes that nursery staff should be retained and paid their salaries during the closure

Vitalii Kim stated that nursery staff should be retained and paid their salaries during the closure. Screenshot from a YouTube broadcast

Vitalii Kim, a member of Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, believes that nursery staff in Mykolaiv should continue to receive their salaries even during periods of inactivity, despite the difficult budgetary situation.

He made this statement on 30 April at a City Council session, commenting on the discussion regarding a possible reduction in the network of pre-school institutions, according to NikVesti.

According to him, in the case of educational staff, it is appropriate to maintain staff payments.

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«In many places, people receive two-thirds of their salary. Although I am a proponent of austerity and believe that everything should be directed towards defence, it is precisely in this matter that we must pay. Because in the ports, salaries are paid during downtime, and at shipyards too. These expenses are funds that go to citizens during forced downtime. It is not their fault that they are not working due to the Russian Federation’s aggression. We need to economise if the strategy is clear that children can go to a different nursery,» said Vitalii Kim.

At the same time, he called on both the mayor and the council to prepare for a difficult financial year.

«There is a possibility that all resources will have to be directed towards critical matters,» he emphasised.

According to him, the authorities must now focus on building up reserves and cutting non-essential expenditure.

Why does Mykolaiv want to close three nurseries?

The Mykolaiv Education Department has initiated a decision to close three nurseries: №104 (a nursery on Torрova Street in the Korabelnyi district), №128 (a nursery-kindergarten at the junction of Mariupolska and Pavlo Skoropadskyi Streets (formerly Admiral Makarov Street)) and №138 (a nursery-kindergarten on Oleh Kravets Street in Balabanivka). The official reason is the lack of and impossibility of installing shelters. This means that if the motion is passed at the session, such educational establishments will no longer exist in Mykolaiv, and their total number will decrease.

During the committee meeting, the chair of the education committee, Hanna Nord, stated that it is the institutions themselves that are being proposed for closure, whilst the buildings will remain the property of the city.

And following the closure of the three pre-school educational establishments, initiated by the Mykolaiv Education Department, the Municipal Property Management Department and the City Council will decide how to use them.

What do city councillors think about the closure?

Councillor Olena Kiseliova supported the rationale behind closing the preschools, stating that it is not cost-effective for the city to maintain them. She says that there is a broader issue behind the closure than the fact that they lack shelters and it is impossible to build them there. During the war, the institutions have been idle, but all this time it has been necessary to maintain the buildings and staff.

Councillor Artem Iliuk stated that he could support the legal closure of the three kindergartens, but said he would not support the subsequent privatisation of these buildings.

Tamila Buhaienko, former deputy mayor of Mykolaiv, also commented on the Education Department’s proposal to close the three nurseries. She believes this could lead to a shortage of places in pre-school facilities once the war ends. Councillor Tetiana Dombrovska also spoke out against the proposal.

However, councillor Hanna Remennikova believes that if some of the kindergartens are closed and subsequently privatised, the funds generated should be directed towards modernising existing facilities.

Yurii Hranaturov, Mayor of Mykolaiv from 2014 to 2016, told NikVesti that the issue of kindergartens is critically important for the city, especially given that the population is changing and the need for pre-school education is growing once again. According to him, the situation with nurseries in Mykolaiv has already gone through various phases on numerous occasions — from a surplus to a shortage of places.

In particular, during a city council session, the Mayor of Mykolaiv stated that there is currently no question of privatising kindergartens Nos. 104, 128 and 138, which are proposed for closure. Councillors are to liquidate only the legal entity, whilst the buildings are to be preserved.