The city of Sabadell will receive 3.2 million euros from the Generalitat de Catalunya to invest in public schools. The municipal government has detailed that the majority of these funds will be allocated to the removal of asbestos cement, an action highly anticipated in centers such as the Calvet d’Estrella or Pau Casals schools, which have been demanding the replacement of their roofs made of this material for years.
The director of the Calvet d’Estrella school, Maria Pérez, explained in a press conference that they have been on the waiting list for asbestos cement removal for "many years", although the problem has become "normalized" in daily life. She stressed that the presence of asbestos is "harmful to the health" of the children and staff of the center, and expressed concern about the "long-term consequences".
The municipal plan aims to act on two schools to remove asbestos cement and replace the roofs of five more centers. These actions will be added to the work that the Generalitat has already carried out in some summers. The funds will also be used to change windows in three centers and renovate the bathrooms in 30 facilities.
The actions do not yet have a specific date, but the mayor, Marta Farrés, has stated that they "will try to do it as soon as possible". The deadline to execute the works and justify the expenses to the Department of Education extends until 2028. The council will consult the most urgent needs with each school before finalizing the interventions, as asbestos removal tasks require the school to be empty, suggesting the Christmas or summer holidays as the most logical times.
This package of 3.2 million is part of the "Actualitza Escoles" (Update Schools) extraordinary plan of the Generalitat, endowed with 100 million euros for all of Catalonia. The actions will focus on 35 public educational centers built before 2007 and that have not undergone major renovations.
