Como, rejected the school plan of the mayor of Rapinese

Context

In brief

• The Provincial Council rejects the proposal from the Municipality of Como.
• Alessandro Rapinese votes against, connected via streaming.
• The meeting is held at Villa Gallia.
• The proposal fails to reach an agreement with the schools.

Key facts

• Body: Provincial Council
• Proposer: Municipality of Como
• Connected Mayor: Alessandro Rapinese
• Location: Villa Gallia
• Cited regional regulation: DGR no. XII/6621 of 27.07.2026

The decision at Villa Gallia

The Provincial Council has rejected the proposal for the rationalization of Comprehensive Institutes put forward by the Municipality of Como. The proposed resolution received favorable votes from all others, while the Mayor of Como, Alessandro Rapinese, connected via streaming during tonight's meeting at Villa Gallia, voted against it.

The reason stated in the document is linked to the lack of elements required by the legislation and regional guidelines. The point mentioned with the greatest clarity concerns the agreement with the schools, which, according to the Provincial Council, has not been reached in the terms required by DGR no. XII/6621 of 27.07.2026.

The institutes involved, as read in the voted proposal, had reiterated that they were ready to dialogue with the municipal administration to jointly define the reorganization interventions for the city's school network. At the same time, they had formally expressed a reasoned dissent regarding the proposed solutions. The provincial document emphasizes that the municipal deliberation does not account for that dissent.

The reasons listed during the meeting are therefore based on the regional regulatory framework regarding schools. The evaluation also concerns the positions formally expressed by the involved institutes and the way these positions were reported in the municipal deliberation. The rejection thus concerns the proposal presented by the Municipality, for reasons linked to regional legislation and the required agreements with the schools.

Operational details

The objections collected in the document

The provincial decision first recalls the contrary report of the school leaders of the IC Como Borgovico and the IC Como Nord. The document also mentions the communications of the presidents of numerous city councils, in addition to that of the plexus contact person of the mother in via Zezio.

To these findings is added the note by Imerio Chiappa, director of the Territorial School Office, also referred to in the text as a former Provveditorate. His position concerns the hypotheses of closure or displacement of the plexuses, especially when the current school population still allows the formation of classes and sections and when an understanding with schools is lacking.

According to Imerio Chiappa, the closure or movement of plexuses still able, based on the current school population, to easily form classes and sections is not acceptable if there is no agreement with the schools.

According to the note, such a decision would have significant social consequences for entire neighborhoods, which would remain without the service delivery points. Chiappa also recalled the absence of guarantees on the adequacy of the spaces and the fact that the proposal still insists on the same locations subject to administrative litigation.

The project of the Municipality aimed to increase the number of citizen Comprehensive Institutes from 8 to 5. It also included the closure of the Carluccio kindergarten in Via Volta and the primary Corridoni kindergarten in Via Sinigaglia, as well as the reopening of the maternal kindergarten in Ponte Chiasso. Thelatter was supposed to welcome the children of the Monte Olimpino kindergarten, whose renovation was never started. The closure of the Ponte Chiasso maternal had been strongly desired by the Rapinese administration only three years ago.

The project was contested by the opposition, teachers and families. Appeals and letters had triggered a mobilization in the courtyard of Palazzo Cernezzi during the session of the City Council. Despite those objections, the document had passed thanks to a compact majority, with the abstention of three councillors.

Key points

The transition to the Region

Now the decisive transition falls to the Region. By the end of the year the final decision on the plan must be reached, but before the definitive provision the dialogue with the Municipality will also be reopened. This discussion must allow the administration, if it wishes, to make the requested changes.

The document of the Provincial Council, however, points out other still open elements. For the Cappuccini kindergarten and the Corridoni primary school, an evaluation is underway by the State Council. The situation of these two institutions is therefore considered together with the rest of the administrative process regarding the restructuring of the city schools.

For the changes concerning the other comprehensive institutions based in the Municipality of Como, the deliberations of all the involved Municipalities are still missing. In the case of relocations or closures of school sites, the document also calls for the need for agreements with the schools. These are the steps that will have to be addressed in the discussion following the provincial rejection.

The outcome will therefore depend on the path that will develop between the Region and the Municipality within the deadlines of the regional school sizing plan. The source already indicates the consequence in case an agreement is not reached: for the next school year the institutions would retain the current configuration.

The decision of the Provincial Council therefore does not introduce a new organization of the schools, but returns the municipal project to the discussion with the institutions, with the interested Municipalities and with the Region. The next provision must take into account the requested changes and the evaluations still underway.

Source: comozero.it