Opposition critical of works in school area

Joan Collins OPPOSITION parties in Palma council will send a letter to the Mayor, Catalina Cirer, and the Balearic Ministers of Education, Francesc Fiol, and Public Works, Mabel Cabrer, to demand the “immediate stoppage” of underground works in the area of Santa Isabel school. This was announced by spokesmen for the opposition parties during a press conference held just days after new tremors in this area forced the school to be evacuated for the second time. They criticised both the local Government and the Palma council for giving priority to the works “above the safety and education of children” and also the Education Ministry's plan to relocate the pupils to other schools in the vicinity, against the wishes of some of the parents. They said that, before taking any decisions, the Government and council should consult the parents and teachers. The spokesmen said the letter will demand the works be stopped “within a minimum radius of 500 metres of the Santa Isabel school” and they should not be restarted “until a comprehesive study of the situation has been done and the corresponding reports have been obtained from independent technicians as to the causes of the tremors”. They are also demanding that “no work is carried out with heavy machinery within a minimum radius of 500 metres of the school in class hours, that they take the advice of the techinicians to guarantee the safety of the area”, and that a “special daily inspection of the state of the centre before the start of classes” be carried out. Meanwhile the Mayor, Catalina Cirer, yesterday asked the parents of the pupils of Santa Isabel to show a “bit of confidence” in the technicians who were putting together a report to determine if there is any real risk to the pupils. She assured them that if her children were attending that school she would wait for the conclusions of the Technical Commission who are studying the case and if they offered guaranties that there is no danger, “I wouldn't change schools”.