Orihuela allocates over 100,000 euro to urgent repairs in around twenty public schools

Orihuela Town Council will allocate slightly more than 100,000 euro to urgent repair, maintenance, and adaptation works across public schools in the municipality. The Education Department has launched six service contracts that will allow interventions in educational centres across the city, the coast, and the outlying villages to resolve issues accumulated during the previous academic year.

The contracts carry a maximum budget of 100,702.25 euro, including VAT, and cover masonry and waterproofing, ironwork and locksmithing, painting, carpentry and blind repairs, electricity, plumbing, aluminium carpentry, and glazing. These tasks require specialised personnel or technical means that the council does not directly possess.

Specifically, the local authority has set aside 17,448.20 euro for masonry and waterproofing; 17,968.50 euro for ironwork and locksmithing; 15,125 euro for painting; 17,000.50 euro for carpentry and blind repairs; 15,433.55 euro for electricity; and 17,726.50 euro for plumbing, aluminium carpentry, and glazing.

In terms of electrical work, planned interventions include wiring repairs, replacing light fittings and switches, and working on intercom systems. Meanwhile, the plumbing, aluminium, and glazing contract includes repairs to bathrooms, windows, and the replacement of broken glass.

Education Councillor, Vicente Pina, explained that municipal infrastructure crews attended to maintenance requests submitted by management teams during the last school year, whilst interventions requiring greater specialisation were incorporated into these contracts.

“We are talking about more than 100,000 euro allocated directly to our public schools and to solving real problems affecting their daily operation,” stated Pina, who maintained that these actions are “necessary and, in many cases, urgent”.

Technical reports accompanying the files justify hiring external companies due to the lack of sufficient municipal personnel and material resources to carry out specific specialised tasks.

The repairs will reach numerous centres across the municipal area. Included among them are the schools Josefina Manresa, Fernando de Loazes, La Campaneta, Playas de Orihuela, La Matanza, La Murada, Ismael García, Los Dolses, Rincón de Bonanza, Antonio Sequeros, Andrés Manjón, Virgen de los Desamparados, La Aparecida, San Bartolomé, Miguel Hernández, and Molins, although actions will depend on the needs detected at each location.

One of the centres receiving a larger share of funding is CEIP Playas de Orihuela, where planned works on electrical installations alone total around 5,741 euro.

The Education Department expects that, once administrative procedures conclude, companies will be able to begin work in the coming days. Interventions will be prioritised according to urgency, and the files allow priorities to be modified if new immediate needs arise during execution.

These contracts are being launched just ahead of the start of the school year on 9 September. Since the beginning of the week, municipal crews have been carrying out preparation work in schools, mainly cleaning outdoor spaces, removing undergrowth, and low-level pruning.

Pina emphasised that a significant portion of Orihuela’s schools are housed in buildings several decades old, with some close to 50 years old, making continuous conservation and maintenance work necessary.