ThoseEarly childhood in Geneva –
In Petit-Saconnex, the move of a crèche arouses anger
The small household will have a new building as soon as mid-August. But parents and employees denounce poor planning.
Located in a haven of greenery, the La Petite Maisonné crèche makes children and their parents happy.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
- The La Petite Maisonné crèche will move this summer despite the parents’ opposition.
- The move to a new building arouses concerns about the educational environment.
- Opponents also denounce poor planning of the work provided.
- Ultimately, the city promises to double its places in the neighborhood, once the renovation is completed.
Located in an old bourgeois house, at 143, route de Ferney, the crèche The little household Welcomes 84 children who benefit from access to one hectare park. But due to future work, the place will close on July 21. In a letter from the early childhood service of the city of Geneva, dating from November 2024, the parents learned that their children would be welcomed, from August 21, in a brand new building, at Chemin du Petit-Saconnex.
While, last year, 750 children were on the waiting list For a crèche place in the town of Geneva, the news causes anger. Because parents and employees believe that with better planning, the municipality could have temporarily doubled the reception in the sector by opening a new structure while maintaining the current open crèche. For several months, they have challenged the department to try to postpone the deadline.
Decrease in the quality of reception
For families as for the educators of the small household, this move is first of all a heartbreaker. All relate a pleasant atmosphere and idyllic conditions. “We are going to pile up in this new crèche where there is not even access to the outside,” worries an educator. The quality of reception will drop. “
Same concern for a dad, who tempers however: “I know that many parents do not have a day care solution, so I don’t want to complain too much. But it is true that the setting was exceptional and I am disappointed for my son, who will no longer take advantage of it. ”
Bad planning
If the discontent is so strong, it is also because parents and employees consider that this move would have been poorly planned. Indeed, the city is currently negotiating with the canton, the current owner of the premises, to acquire the house. And it is only once the transaction has been carried out, and the various stages, especially before the municipal council, completed, that the site will be able to start.
“The crèche should not close as long as the sale has not taken place, annoys Lena Rey, mother of a child registered with the small household. With the deadlines for this type of procedure, the work will not be completed before seven to ten years! ” Also MCG municipal councilor, she is the author of a motion asking for the temporary maintenance of the structure at the Route de Ferney.
Families and employees of the crèche regret to leave the premises which benefit from a park of one hectare.
Laurent Guiraud/Tamedia
The opponents therefore believe that the City of Geneva should have maintained the reception in the current building, the time to move forward in its negotiations, while opening a new crèche on Chemin du Petit-Saconnex. A measure which would have made it possible to maintain the 84 places existing while temporarily opening 88 in the neighborhood. “I am a mom and I struggled to find a place in a crèche, regrets an educator. It is unacceptable to “lose” 84 for nothing. “
“It would have been possible to wait since it was told that the current state of the building was not a danger for children,” added Lena Rey.
Four new places
Christina Kitsosmagistrate responsible for early childhood in the town of Geneva, confirms that the building still meets security standards but underlines the urgency of renovations. Like the redesign of pipes and sealing. Frame and roof must also undergo a repair and the heating system will be replaced.
Large work, of an indefinite moment, but that it would have been impossible to carry out the time of a summer. The administrative advisor considers, however, that the project has been properly planned.
“When the owner offered premises at Chemin du Petit-Saconnex, we took the opportunity, knowing that the small household required major work,” says Christina Kitsos. The main thing for the city of Geneva was to maintain all the reception places, the workstations and to guarantee the quality of the reception without interruption for families. ”
The magistrate still refutes having “deleted” 84 places but rather claims to have created it since the future building will be able to accommodate four more children. Despite the skepticism of certain parents, Christina Kitsos promises that at the end of the renovation work, the two places will remain nurseries.
The city’s arguments are unconvincing for opponents of the move. The latter founded an association And filed, in May, a petition of a hundred signatures. The motion of Lena Rey, registered in emergency during the last meeting of the municipal council, could not be treated, for lack of time. “The association committee is currently analyzing all possible remedies,” announces the elected MCG.
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