The State Promised to Fund New Schools, But Not a Single Crown Was Set Aside in the Budget

In the town of Mníšek pod Brdy in the Central Bohemian Region and its surroundings, there will be a shortage of 700 places for children in primary schools in the coming years. This is a typical growing area near Prague, where young families keep moving in — there's no demographic crisis here, only more and more children. But as local mayors have discovered, the draft state budget for next year contains not a single crown to support so-called "joint schools" (shared schools built by associations of several municipalities).

Across Czechia, ten such projects are currently at an advanced stage. In Mníšek, a building permit has already been issued and a search for a general contractor is underway, yet the state funding promised for years has suddenly vanished from the plans.

Schools Are Needed, But There's No Money

"Since basic education is compulsory by law, we believe the state is obligated to help fund it," says Daniela Paterová, deputy mayor of Mníšek, who heads the local voluntary association of municipalities.

A similar situation faces a dozen municipalities south of České Budějovice, which are planning a joint school for 540 pupils in 18 classes, to replace an unsightly abandoned plot in the village of Vidov. "The state is worried about the demographic crisis, so it should be supporting places where children are actually being born," says Tomáš Šedivý, mayor of Vidov. According to him, 5,000 people already live in the surrounding municipalities, the number keeps growing, and there isn't a single lower-secondary school in the area — the expanding České Budějovice is gradually closing its schools to children from neighboring villages. Construction was planned to begin in 2027, and everything is ready, including partial funding from the municipalities' own resources.

Among the projects awaiting support are: the Malše school near České Budějovice (10 municipalities), the Václav Kounic school in Slavkov u Brna (6 municipalities), the "Venkov–Předklášteří" school in the Tišnov area (13 municipalities), the "pod Skalkou" school in Mníšek pod Brdy, a project in Brandýs nad Labem–Stará Boleslav (14 municipalities), as well as projects in Pardubice and Jílové.

The Minister Blames the Finance Ministry

Why didn't the government set aside money for new schools in growing regions? Education Minister Robert Plaga (ANO) claims he pushed for the funding but without success. "This is the usual disagreement with the Finance Ministry. I demanded 600 million crowns for 2027 to launch a new investment program. The Finance Ministry offered zero. We agreed that the decision would be made by the prime minister, for whom this has been a priority since 2016," Plaga said.

This has done little to reassure the mayors. A few weeks ago, some of them met in person with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who promised to "fight" for the 600 million crowns for joint schools in 2027. But a zero in the draft budget, amid talk of "priorities" and "fighting for funds," only heightens the anxiety — it's unclear whether construction will begin at all or whether the projects will have to be scrapped. Parents, too, are left in the dark.

"Our Own Money Won't Be Enough"

"It's completely unrealistic to manage this with our own resources. We're a relatively large town, but we could borrow a maximum of 250 million crowns — and then we wouldn't be able to fund anything else for years to come. Without a state contribution, we have no chance of building the school," says Marie Jedličková (KDU-ČSL), deputy mayor of Slavkov u Brna.

STAN MP Věra Kovářová, who has spent years working on the issue of school shortages around major cities, insists that the state needs to give municipalities a multi-year funding guarantee. Building one large school today costs at least half a billion crowns. When the budget is debated in the Chamber of Deputies, Kovářová plans to introduce an amendment allocating funds for joint schools — a seven-year program worth 4.5 billion crowns, with a clear list of supported projects, so that municipalities can finally move from planning to actual construction.

The association of municipalities around Mníšek pod Brdy is putting particularly strong pressure on the government — as it happens, Industry Minister Karel Havlíček (ANO) also lives there. "We're doing everything we can to make sure funding for joint schools is found," he said, having also joined the negotiations.

In late August, Mníšek sent a letter to Prime Minister Babiš demanding funding. He replied that basic education is not "an optional public service but a legal obligation of the state," but at the same time criticized the municipality for lacking sufficient documentation to justify the project's necessity, and suggested considering alternatives such as extensions to existing buildings. Yet in Mníšek, the capacity of school buildings has already been expanded three times in recent years — a new wing for 120 children was added, a gymnasium was built, and combined classes were introduced. "We simply have nowhere left to grow," says Paterová, spreading her hands.

The government is planning a budget deficit of 389 billion crowns for next year. Such a high figure is unpopular with coalition partners — the Motorists and SPD parties — who are negotiating spending cuts with the prime minister and Finance Minister Alena Schillerová.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz