Over eight hundred spaces will be added to Reykjavík’s preschool system over the next six years, RÚV reports. This will be accomplished by building five to six new preschools, at a total cost of roughly ISK 3 Billion [$30,210,000]. The proposal was first presented to the city council, where it received the approval of the majority of council members, and then announced at a press conference on Thursday.
In an interview with RÚV, Reykjavík mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson explained that the cost of growing the city’s preschool system would only come to ISK600 [$6,042,000] this year, although future expenses and investments would eventually bring the total cost to ISK 3 Billion.
It’s been said by some that Thursday’s announcement on preschool improvements is a bid to curry favor just before the upcoming election, a suggestion that Dagur shrugged off: “…[W]e said at the beginning of the term that it would take two terms to finish addressing issues with the preschools.” This sentiment was echoed by Líf Magneudóttir, a representative from the Left Green party. “Of course, it’s an enormous amount of work, requiring us to analyze the entire system and talk to a number of individuals, staff, preschool directors, and parents,” she said. “It’s an extensive project and it’s simply taken time.”
