Building up then tearing down - Chelm in Herzliya?

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Parents and students at Herzliya's Yohanani elementary school are questioning whether Herzliya has turned into Chelm, the legendary city of foolishness, after the city renovated their school extensively last year only to destroy part of the renovations this year, reports www.mynet.co.il. The school parents' committee says the city unilaterally decided to convert part of the school to a "hativa tzeira," a kindergarten set on school premises, and has destroyed newly renovated classrooms in the process. According to the report, the school underwent a partial renovation two years ago and an extensive renovation last year. But now the city has decided to build the kindergarten for 28 children of compulsory age (five to six). Hativot tzeirot, by being located on school premises, aim to get children in their final year of kindergarten used to the school environment and create an easier transition into first grade the following year. A parents' committee representative said the city did not consult the committee about the kindergarten and simply announced it as a fact, hiring an outside contractor to do the work. "They came and destroyed classrooms that had been renovated," the representative said. A municipal spokesman said hativot tzeirot were already running at several other schools in Herzliya, and were operating to the "full satisfaction" of school principals and parents. The spokesman said the new work "did not affect" the previous renovations, and the parents' committee had been informed of the kindergarten's opening by school management.