In one open letter addressed to the mayor of Crotonethe ATA staff expresses concern and dissent regarding the recent decisions related to the management of the weather warnings that affected the municipal territory.
Recognition of the role of ATA staff in the educational community
The letter highlights the importance of ATA staff within the school, now formally recognized as an integral part of Educating communitythanks to the latest contract which enhances their equal role with teachers and educators. This recognition marks a step forward in overcoming the conception of the school as a “company”, in favor of a vision consistent with constitutional principles.
The ATAs ask for greater protection of their work and denounce outsourcing attempts, underlining the importance of their immovability to guarantee the correct carrying out of school activities.
Closing of schools or suspension of activities?
The letter points the finger at the decisions taken during the recent ones weather alertshighlighting how schools were not closed, but only educational activities were suspended. This choice, we read, would have caused a waste of public resourcesconsidering that central heating systems continued to function, despite the buildings remaining practically unused.
Furthermore, the difference between the “school closure”, which involves the total interruption of activities due to serious causes such as snowfall or floods, and the “suspension of teaching activities”, comparable to the Christmas or Easter holiday periods, in which the school remains open for non-teaching activities.
Request for greater attention and consistency
The ATA staff reiterates that, like teachers and students, they too are exposed to the risks associated with adverse weather conditions and asks that, in the future, decisions be more coherent and respectful of their role within the school. The letter ends with an appeal to avoid choices that lead to waste of public money and to guarantee the safety of all school staff.
The issue raises broader reflections on the management of weather emergencies in schools, emphasizing the need for clearer and more functional decisions for the common good.