The parents’ associations (AMPAs) of Manilva yesterday held a meeting with the mayor, Mario Jiménez, the Education councillor, Laura Salazar, and other councillors from the governing team, such as Juan Carlos Morejón and Gema Zotano, with the aim of learning the Town Hall’s official position on the file for the construction of a new secondary school in the municipality.
According to the AMPAs themselves, the meeting was used to review the existing administrative documentation and analyse the current situation of the project for the new school, an infrastructure they consider «urgent and necessary» given the overcrowding which, they say, IES Las Viñas is suffering.
During the meeting, the mayor showed the representatives of these associations, with complete transparency, the full administrative file relating to the request for a new secondary school since the current governing team took on municipal responsibility. According to the mayor, the Town Hall has sent numerous communications to the Junta de Andalucía requesting meetings to address the project.
13 requests for a meeting with the education department unanswered
According to the information provided during the meeting, the Town Hall has repeatedly requested meetings with the territorial delegate for Educational Development, Miguel Briones.
Between February 2025 and February 2026, the Town Hall has recorded up to 13 requests and reminders to hold an institutional meeting to address the construction of the new secondary school, some of them accompanying requests for a meeting from the AMPA itself. Only once did the Junta respond, to announce that it would resume the agenda in September 2025, but to date neither Mr Briones’s education department nor anyone on its behalf has given an affirmative answer to meet the families, who are still waiting.
Status of the file
During the meeting, the mayor explained that the file for the new secondary school remains open at the Junta de Andalucía, to which the AMPAs expressed doubts about the real progress of the project, since, as they indicated, there is no evidence that a budget has been allocated for building the school.
It was also recalled that the Town Hall has offered land on several occasions to facilitate the execution of the project. On 3 February 2022 the council meeting approved the transfer of a 7,500-square-metre plot for this educational infrastructure. Almost three years later, on 4 December 2025, the offer of an alternative plot next to the current secondary school was approved, as the first one presented some technical drawbacks that made building the new school unviable.
According to the AMPAs, the latest offer was registered electronically, although there is no record of a formal response from the regional administration.
Municipal support for the campaign
During the meeting, the municipal governing team expressed its willingness to back any protest actions the families may launch to demand the construction of the new school.
Among the measures put forward is the possibility of providing buses for trips to the Andalusian Parliament, as well as the production of banners and informational material that could be put up in different parts of the municipality, including schools.
Concern over lack of progress
After the meeting, the AMPAs welcomed the meeting held with the Town Hall and the information provided on the file. However, they expressed their concern at the lack of progress on the project and the absence of a clear response from the Junta de Andalucía.
The families’ associations have reiterated that they will continue to mobilise until the construction of a new secondary school in Manilva is confirmed, an infrastructure they consider essential to guarantee adequate educational conditions given the growth in the municipality’s school population.
Following the meeting with the Town Hall, the AMPAs say they now have the council’s official version of the administrative situation of the project. However, they continue to gather information and hold meetings with the various political groups that have shown an interest in the matter.
In this regard, the parents’ associations maintain their public invitation to representatives of the Education Delegation of the Junta de Andalucía to hold a meeting at which they can set out their version and clarify the real status of the new secondary school project, with the aim of giving the residents of Manilva a full explanation of the current situation and the steps planned for its development.
The AMPAs have thanked the various political parties and organisations involved for the support and goodwill shown so far, insisting on the need for all administrations to work in a coordinated way towards a common goal: to guarantee the young people of the municipality a decent public education in facilities suited to current needs.
