Konarski School Has a New Headmaster?

By means of a contest, Walery Jagliński became the new headmaster of the Szymon Konarski Primary School. Before that, Jagliński performed the function of a vice-headmaster.

“The new position is not occupied yet. We have to complete some formalities, and then the candidature has to be approved by the local government council. So far we haven’t had a situation in which a candidature is dismissed by the council. Nevertheless, we should wait,” said Walery Jagliński to zw.lt. The meeting of the session is due to be held in August.

Jagliński stressed that, if he was approved by the council, he would not make any revolutionary changes as the headmaster. “There won’t be any big, drastic changes, because great teachers work for the school, and they’re extremely experienced. […] If any changes occur, they’ll concern modernisation. Anyway, the changes are already being introduced. Before, our students did not have lockers, and now they are going to have them [….] The school’s also going to be renovated, so everything depends on funds. We’ve been drawn into several projects […]We’re going to be a competitive and the best school,” Jagliński assured in the interview of zw.lt.

The long-standing headmaster of the school Teresa Michajłowicz handed in her resignation at the beginning of August 2015. The main reason of the resignation was problems concerning the reorganisation of the school. Pursuant to the decision of the municipality authorities, the educational institution has been transformed from the secondary school institution to a primary one.

“It’s hard to excuse oneself in such a situation. Both teachers and students were displeased. Really I’m sick of it all,” thus the school headmaster commented on the reasons of the resignation a year ago.

For a year duties of the headmaster have been performed by Krystyna Kratkowska.

Problems with reorganisation at the Szymon Konarski School began in the spring of 2015, when on 1st April the council of the previous term of office decided on the school’s transformation into a primary one, for which the AWPL councillors voted.
On 29th July the council of the new term of office decided on the transformation of nine secondary schools in Vilnius, including the Szymon Konarski one, into primary ones. This time, the AWPL councillors voted against the reorganisation. At the very beginning of the session, the AWPL faction suggested that they not consider the issue, as there had not been any proper consultations with the schools’ communities. The suggestion, however, was dismissed.

Twenty-five councillors supported the reorganisation, fourteen opposed, and two abstained.

The school community challenged the decision in the court.

On 11th August the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court suspended the council’s decision, which did not allow forming 11th- and 12th-grade classes in the school, for the duration of the trial. However, on 31st August the board of judges that had been considering the appeal lodged by the municipality of Vilnius governed revocation of that decision, and the day before the beginning of the school year, the students had had to move to another school.