Some 529,345 public and private students are preparing to return to school this Thursday. During her traditional back-to-school press conference, Valérie Pécresse (Libre!) presented this Tuesday the new features to come for the 474 public establishments managed by the region, as well as the subsidies granted to private establishments under contract with the State. All for a budget of 984 million euros.
Purchasing power in sight. While inflation is panicking, the region is hammering its “social shield” measures, announced last May. As part of this promise of “200 million euros to support Ile-de-France residents in the face of the crisis”, Valérie Pécresse confirms the freezing of canteen prices. A loss of revenue for the region estimated at 4 million euros. The pricing of the meal at 50 cents for high school students from the most modest homes, launched last year, is renewed. The maximum price remains 4.09 euros. Inflation will not be passed on, either, on school transport and the annual Imagine R package remains at 350 euros.
Private investments. Social aid, restored last year in the name of “freedom of choice of establishment”, is maintained for students from families with modest resources in private high schools under contract. After devoting 2 million euros “to allow continued security (anti-intrusion alarms, video surveillance, etc.) of the 218 Ile-de-France high schools under contract”, the region is releasing 10 million euros “in aid to renovate, bring up to standard and extend the accommodation capacities of these establishments”.
The computer for everyone. Like last year, all students in public high schools will have a computer when entering second, loaded with textbooks. Ditto for those in the vocational path of private high schools under an association contract with the State, who receive a laptop provided by the Region. Those in general and technological streams will also be able to benefit from it, based on social criteria and at the request of establishments. The promise of 100% of public high schools connected to wi-fi, which could not be kept last year, should be “finally kept on October 15”.
New high schools, expansions and renovations. According to projections by the Paris Region Institute, 9,000 places are to be created by 2030 to meet demographic needs, in addition to the 21,600 places already planned. The 2017-2027 high school emergency plan of 6 billion euros is supplemented by an additional 600 million to reach the objective. This year, 2,400 places have been created in the suburbs, including a new high school with 1,200 places to be delivered in the fall in Cormeilles-en-Parisis (Val-d’Oise), a renovation-extension of 600 places at the Lycée Mendès- France in Ris-Orangis (Essonne), an extension of 400 places of the Pauline Roland high school in Chevilly-Larue (Val-de-Marne) and an extension of 200 places of the Jacques-Monod high school in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine).
Reinforced security brigades. “We have a lot of fights”, attacks Valérie Pécresse, before praising the merits of the regional security brigades (BRS), these agents divided into groups of 5 to secure the interior and the surroundings of the Ile-de-France high schools since April 2019. Recalling her “Struggle with the State, which had challenged their existence in law”, the president of the region announced the doubling of the workforce, to reach 50 agents. “In three years and despite the Covid, they have carried out 1,900 interventions, 3,800 islanding missions consisting in particular of surveillance and access control, missions of assistance to heads of establishments in the regulation of flows, mediation , or the supervision of construction sites (work in high schools)”.
The generalized educational reserve. Experimented last year, the educational reserve made up of 16 retired teachers provided a thousand hours of homework help in 16 public high schools. It is now open to associations and active teachers, with the aim of ensuring 20,000 hours of supervised homework for high school students.
Manger local. The Region has joined forces with Seine-et-Marne to create a school catering supply platform which should be commissioned at the start of the 2024 school year. “Based in Provins, it is responsible for organizing the collection of farm dairy products, as well as the collection and processing of fruits and vegetables and poultry from local producers, explains the region. It will provide catering for the colleges of Seine-et-Marne and the high schools of the Créteil academy, i.e. more than 15 million meals per year. »