A large school complex in Byron will be closed for two weeks due to crumbling plaster in the yard. This is the 1st gymnasium and the 1st lyceum, in which about 800 students study. The school was built in 1965, and in 1980 the 3rd wing was added to it.

In Q’s conversation with Byron Mayor Grigoris Katopodis about how we came to the emergency school shutdown, he explains:

“On Monday, December 3, 2023, plaster fell from the front of the roof in the courtyard. We fixed it the next day, but found that there were other issues as well. So, last Saturday, and then Monday and Tuesday, while digging up the plaster in this place, we saw that the problem is more extensive, as other neighboring pieces also fall. Municipality technical staff found that the fragile area is large, so we raised the issue of the safety of students and teachers, making the decision to close the school for two weeks.”

According to Mr Katopodi, the pavement will first be cleaned (scraped off) in order to start overhauling the infrastructure during the Easter holidays. While work continues, students will attend classes remotely.

At the same time, the mayor mentions that energy modernization was carried out at this school last summer – replacement of windows, installation of a thermal facade, etc. – under the program of the Green Fund. He also noted that in 2019, a static control was carried out at the school, and in 2022, a pre-seismic control was also carried out under the Antonis Tritsis (MVD) program.

“Until now, there have been no problems, but as you can imagine, old buildings wear out over the years, are stressed and need systematic maintenance. However, municipalities now have small budgets for their implementation,” the mayor emphasizes.

It should be noted that for fifteen years the responsibility for the condition of school buildings (inspection and troubleshooting) was assigned to the municipalities, and the work was carried out either by the technical services of each municipality or by contractors.

Another look at the Byron Parents Association

OUR George Varsagakis, the president of the Byron Parents Association presents a different picture of the matter. He says that schools in the area have not had static checks in recent years, “so the municipality has used resources for an energy upgrade in a building that, however, appears to be unfinished. “tolerate”. How can you install, for example, a thermal facade and plaster will fall off after a few months? Was research done before this update? he wonders and adds: “When the municipality’s technical service entered the school the day after the incident, everything they touched on the front of the roof collapsed.”