Last update - 00:00 04/11/2007
State waffles on timeline to rocket-proof Sderot-area schools
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent
The state has not given the High Court of Justice its timetable for building 12 new schools to service Sderot and other communities within range of rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip.
That information was expected to be included in the state's reply to the court, in which it was to list deadlines for court-ordered safety measures.
This year, Sderot's municipal parents' committee and other bodies petitioned the High Court against the state, calling for the town's schools to be better safeguarded.
Currently, certain areas within area schools are designated "safe zones," and students must be able to reach a safe zone within 15 seconds.
In May, the court ruled in favor of the parents - that this method is insufficient, and that all schools in Sderot and the surrounding region must be fully rocket-proof by September.
The state applied for an extension, claiming it would not be able to rocket-proof all the schools in the given time. It said it would be better to rebuild some of the schools from scratch, which would take time.
The court demanded that the Education Ministry submit detailed schedules for the project. A progress report on the schedules was due at the beginning of this month.
The state's progress report indicates that eight area schools will be rocket-proof by May 2008, with a delay of at most three months at two of the schools.
The report also specifies the steps taken to build 13 additional schools, and lists a deadline for completing the school in Sha'ar Hanegev. However, for the other 12 schools, the state lists the current state of the planning process, but does not say when construction is expected to be finished.
The state's reply indicates that until this work is completed, pupils will attend schools that use the discredited safety method.
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