Translated material
"Be realistic - demand the impossible!"
Almost two weeks have passed since the “city of chemists” Dzerzhinsk began a campaign against the closure of school No. 15 and the transfer of its building to an Orthodox gymnasium. In addition to the Left Front, which initiated it, the “Movement for the Defense of Childhood”, “The Other Russia”, as well as deputies of the legislative assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region - S.A. joined the campaign. Leskov and A.G. Terentyev.
Initially, our struggle was complicated by the fact that, despite all the unfavorable socio-economic consequences of the closure of MBOU Secondary School No. 15, its liquidation was completely within the framework of the law. Because the capitalist system does not care at all that closing a school is a crime against humanity; what is more important to it is whether the institution is “optimal” from a commercial point of view.
However, now we can talk about the meager, but still possible, results of our struggle.
Firstly , my friends, we caused serious discomfort to the city administration, which wanted to quietly “merge” the school without causing a public outcry. However, the wave of information we raised spread to the press and television channels, as a result of which the voices of those protesting against the closure of the institution could no longer be ignored.
However, the authorities’ reaction turned out to be all the more funny because they banned absolutely all street events in the city until March 10, 2013, arguing that every single square of the city was “occupied.” The rally “For the Preservation of Dzerzhinsk Schools” was not agreed upon for the same reasons. We will, of course, sue them over this.
Secondly and most importantly . Although the chances of saving the school were initially approximately zero, we managed to achieve some concessions.
Despite the fact that the senior classes will be distributed to nearby educational institutions, a significant part of the children will continue to study in the building of school No. 15, although legally they will belong to another school. This option, of course, does not solve all the problems that parents and students have expressed. However, it should be noted that these concessions would not have happened if all the dissatisfied had not shown persistence and if the campaign to protect the school had not been launched.
We were told that everything had been decided, that it was pointless to fight for even somewhat acceptable compromises for the students of school No. 15 and their parents. But we tried, and we succeeded.
However, the question remains regarding the senior classes. If the children and their parents are ready to continue the fight, then it makes sense to convene a meeting in the near future and agree on future action strategies.
PS I repeat again and again: “Be realistic - demand the impossible!”