“Schools, workplaces and the disappearing 119 million kroner”

With such a headline I read an article in Agderposten for 19 December. Of course I became interested: “and how is it in Norwegian schools?” The theme is not alien to me, since I myself worked 8.5 years in a school (for me that was enough). The article is about Arendal kommune. This kommune is large, it includes 15 settlements and accordingly 15 schools (in the newspaper a diagram is placed). I will not write many figures from the article, but the fact is that the number of pupils is shrinking every year.

I was “struck down” by the money that the state transfers to Arendal kommune for one pupil aged 6–15. This is 119,000 kroner or almost 12 thousand euros. Good money for an ordinary school per pupil. And if the number of pupils decreases by 1,000, and this figure is forecast, then the kommune will not receive 119 million kroner from the state!

Now in Arendal in kindergartens there are 2,200 people, but over five years a drop of this figure to 1,960 people is expected. For kindergarten parents pay on average 300 euros a month. And for each child the state pays 100 euros a month, starting from birth until 18 years. At birth there is a one-time payment, I think 4,000 euros (but the figure is not exact) I may be mistaken, I didn’t give birth here! 🤓. That’s such a little sadness.”