Last update - 00:00 31/08/2007
Many Sderot parents seeking to enroll children in schools outside city
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent
When Ruhama Levi from Sderot tried to enroll her six-year-old daughter in an elementary school outside the city, the Education Ministry refused. Her daughter, it said, would have to stay in kindergarten, because of psychological problems that developed due to countless alarms warning against rocket attacks from Gaza.
Only following a query from Haaretz did the ministry relent and grant Levi's request.
Many parents from Sderot would prefer their children to attend an out-of-city school, Levi added.
Sderot's parent association is demanding that the Education Ministry allow all parents like Levi to enroll their children in schools outside the city. However, the ministry has not yet acquiesced.
The Education Ministry said it refused Levi's initial choice because she did not file an official request.
For now, Sderot schools to open on time
The parents' committee in the rocket-worn town of Sderot, near the Gaza Strip, decided Thursday to open the school year as scheduled this Sunday.
"Out of a desire to give our children a little bit of routine amid the daily Qassam rocket fire, we will open the school year," the committee said in a statement.
"Despite the Israeli government's policy of neglect and foot-dragging when it comes to safety-proofing the schools in Sderot, we honor the High Court of Justice's decision to grant the state a 21-day extension," the statement added.
The committee says the state has pledged to build six new schools, finish safety-proofing existing schools, double the number of school buses, not slash classroom hours or fire teachers, find solutions for unprotected schools, and install shelters at all bus stops around the town. If the state fails to make good on its promises by the court-ordered deadline, in two weeks, the parents will shut down the schools.
In the past few days, the Home Front Command provided Sderot's 13 schools with a detailed list of their usable classrooms for the school year, which opens Sunday. A total of 164 usable rooms were classified as either "blue," fully protected against rocket fire; or "white," within 15 seconds of a designated safety area.
The HFC worked off of an Education Ministry list that put the total number of classrooms needed in Sderot at 133. A comparison of the ministry's list with the HFC's list prompted HFC chief Yitzhak (Jerry) Gershon to declare Wednesday that Sderot did not lack secure classrooms.
Local parents see things differently, and claim that the number of classrooms approved for use by the HFC does not make it possible to maintain an adequate level of studies. Parents' committee chair Batya Katar and other parents say the number of classrooms approved by the HFC includes bomb shelters that still need to be outfitted as classrooms. Furthermore, the city lacks secure classrooms for holding computer classes.