On Tuesday, the town of Pregrada took over the building and playground of the Stipernica Branch School from the Janko Leskovar Primary School, returning the property to municipal ownership. The Stipernica school will cease operations at the end of the 2025/2026 academic year due to a lack of enrolled children, and the town plans to open a new branch of a children's nursery in the vacant building.
The contract for the transfer of ownership rights was signed prior to the official handover of the property. Zdravka Žiger, director of the Janko Leskovar Primary School, handed the building over to Mayor Goran Vukmanić.
The reason for the conversion is a shortage of places in the existing "Naša radost" nursery: an inspection found that the institution had enrolled around 30 more children than regulations allow, forcing the nursery to adjust its intake numbers. By converting the school building in Stipernica, the town aims to resolve this capacity shortage.
"Our goal is for the 'Naša radost' Children's Nursery to also operate in Stipernica from the autumn," Mayor Vukmanić stated.
The town has announced adaptation works to suit the needs of the youngest children, with the aim of the new nursery branch starting operations in the autumn.
