According to Mayor Portlík, Prague 9 wants to approve the new U Elektra school in June 2023
Primary school and primary school at Elektra. Source of visualization: SMP CZ
Tomáš Portlík (ODS) became mayor of Prague 9 last year, in this year’s elections he led the coalition of Citizen Democrats and TOP 09 to victory, and thus continues in office. As in the previous period, he is responsible for the finances and budget of the municipal district. “My priorities include improving the state of our education,” he says in an interview for the Pražský patriot server.
How does he rate the coalition that leads Prague 9?
The new coalition is based on the same foundation as in the last election period, i.e. ODS, TOP 09 and STAN, and it was newly expanded by a newcomer to the Prague 9 representative office – the Prague 9 Sobé movement. It would be premature to evaluate her work after a month of existence. But the ninth district is one of the most stable areas in Prague, and I see no reason why it should be any different in this election period.
As mayor, what are your priorities for this election period?
Among my priorities is the improvement of the state of our education, which has been receiving blow after blow in recent years. Inclusion, perhaps guided by good intentions, does not deliver what it promised. Anti-covid measures that closed schools, the war in Ukraine combined with the influx of refugees, when we are forced to admit children who do not know Czech to our schools – all this has a negative impact on the level of education. Our district is the founder of five primary schools and ten kindergartens, we have strong competences, but I believe that we can improve a lot with invention. At the time of the covid bans, for example, we tested children in our schools using gentle methods to a large extent, and in cooperation with experts, we started an experiment that was supposed to confirm that covid-19 can be recognized in time from wastewater. It wasn’t to be on the front page of the newspaper, but so that the children could go to school. I would be happy if we managed to move the nine-year education a step further this election period.
At what stage is the elementary school and kindergarten construction project at Elektra?
If everything goes well, we will approve the building of the elementary school and kindergarten at Elektra in June 2023. In addition, we managed to expand the newly created U Elektra school campus with another plot of land. When we started the construction of the elementary and kindergarten, there were legitimate complaints that the space for the school was small. We were aware of it, but we didn’t have anything else at the time. However, we promised to do our best to expand the campus. Today I can responsibly declare that it has been done. In addition to the land on which the school building stands and the premises of the former Postservis of the Czech Post, the ninth district also acquired neighboring green areas.
As in the previous period, you are responsible for the finances and budget of Prague 9. What is the state of the district’s economy?
Dívetka has managed with a balanced budget for a long time. We are managing to fundamentally control expenses for the operation of the city, we have also been active and successful in solving subsidy relations with the state. Dívětka belongs to the city districts with transferred performance of state administration and services that the state transfers to us, we receive significantly less funding than what we actually spent on them. We also manage to get money for investments from foreign sources, for example from the municipality or from EU funds.
Will Prague 9t help socially weaker citizens the effects of the sharp rise in prices?
It is our duty to focus on helping the most vulnerable groups of people, but we will not distribute contributions across the board. I am reminded of a quote by Winston Churchill: “Capitalism has one flaw: the unequal distribution of wealth. Socialism, on the other hand, has one virtue: the equal distribution of poverty.” I think that helping across the board means helping everyone, not helping those who need it most. For example, we can contribute to clubs or lunches for children from socially disadvantaged families, we can adapt the conditions of grants for interest and sports organizations so that even those who otherwise could not afford it for financial reasons can attend. That’s solidarity. Although it is more laborious than distributing support across the board, in addition, one is confronted with the fact that one must decide who will receive the contribution. But it is necessary to choose a fairer way and bear political responsibility for it.